Ashes to Ashes
by Lieutenant257
Summary: Sem has lived her entire life in the Zone, leaving for only a few days at a time with her father. This time, Sem returned to her precious world without her father, but not alone. Taking a job in place of her father, Sem brings a silent soldier into the Zone. Sem drags the reluctant soldier, Prizrak, with her while she chases ghosts into the cruel heart of her world.
1. Introduction

**INTRODUCTION**

"Hey. Hey, what are you doing?" a voice came from behind the camera, the boy who was controlling it. There was a brief moment of static over the screen, the flashlight cutting out for a second. Sounds of something hitting the camera reverberated through. Then blackened fingers slipped down over the lens. The camera had been focused in the darkness of night, the flashlight barely lighting up the surrounding shrubbery.

"Trying to find a way in." Another voice spoke from out of the camera's view. The camera had been spun around, the light shining on what must have been a grey t-shirt. The boy turned around to face the other and the camera with a big smile on his face.

"Maybe we shouldn't go in there, man." The one behind the camera said.

"Oh, Fima, don't be so scared. What could possibly happen?" The other pulled on large, overgrown vines. A chain-linked fence rattled at the pulling.

The camera panned around, fingers created a deep brushing sound through the microphone. With shaking movements the camera had been moved a few feet away from the boy digging in the vines to a nearby sign facing outward from the fence. With a sturdy metal frame, the sign was painted with a warning.

 _DO NOT ENTER. HIGH RADIATION._

"We could get sick." Fima said, turning the camera back around to his friend.

His friend had yanked upon the vines once more having used a knife to cut them free from their entanglement. "Don't be stupid!" He said, tucking his knife away. "It's just a way to keep people out. We need something fresh!" He turned around to face the camera. "Something our viewers want! They're tired of all the abandoned buildings! Let's give them something no one's ever seen before!"

"All right. All right." Fima sighed.

The other had turned back to the fence, pulling on some more vines until there was enough of a space he could fit through. He had disappeared half way into the shadows for a moment before shouting and straightening his back.

"Found the fence. We could climb in here."

Fima stepped closer to him now, the camera panning around to take in the darkness around them. They were in a large clearing with very few trees. A truck had been parked nearby which had served as their transportation.

The fence rattled loudly as Fima's friend climbed up and over it. When his grunts could be heard on the other side, Fima began his shaky ascent.

The other took the camera while Fima climbed, panning it around to catch sight of the enormous redwood trees that made up the forest. The fauna proved that the area had been untouched by man for decades.

With the click of a button, the screen turned a blinding white before shades of green faded in. This coupled with the flashlight gave a better view of the surrounding area.

Fima grunted as he dropped from the fence. His friend quickly handed him the camera back and waved for him to follow.

"Come on! Let's see if we can't find anything."

Fima, with a huff, followed after his friend. There was no path to lead the way. They had to traverse where the fauna allowed them. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath their feet with each step. The wind brushed through the branches and shrubbery, sending chills down their spine.

The deeper they wandered into the forest, the colder the air seemed to get. Every so often the boy in view of the camera stopped to inspect the ground and the shrubbery. Searching for clues of anything that could be around.

"The most we'll find is a pig, or a deer." He said, glancing over his shoulder to look at the camera. "There's a lot of legends about this place. Monsters that lurk in the shadows." He took on a spooky tone as if to scare either Fima, or his viewers. "We searched for weeks to find the least guarded area. We saw the soldiers constructing concrete walls at these checkpoints. They really don't want anyone getting in."

"Maybe they're trying to keep something in, Miron. " Fima added, the camera shifting from his friend, Miron, to the right. All that could be seen in the darkness were the brighter shades of green showing the bark of the massive trees.

"The question is what…." Miron spoke quietly.

They wandered for several more minutes before Miron called for Fima's attention.

Miron pointed up to the bark of one of the redwoods. The camera zoomed in, barely able to focus from the shaking hand that held it. Miron traced his fingers along large indentations in the bark. It appeared to be three claw marks as if something slashed at the tree.

"Looks like a bear has been here before." Miron side, smirking as he looked to the camera.

"A bear?" Fima's voice almost cracked. "There's only three marks. Don't bears have five claws?"

"A three-toed be-" Miron's voice trailed off as his eyes turned to something else in the bark. A strange substance. As he touched it's otherwise smooth surface, he looked back to the camera. "I think it's blood."

The camera unzoomed a small amount to better see the whole section of the tree. At the right angle, the blood could be barely seen. It had been there long enough to completely dry.

Miron looked around the area, finding and pointing out more blood had been smeared across leaves. Whatever had left it must have been injured and moving in a hurry. Then Miron did the unthinkable. He followed the trail.

Hesitating, Fima spun the camera around to check his surroundings before turning back to chase Miron. They were in no real hurry. Playing the cautious role in case what had left the blood was still nearby.

Off in the distance came sounds the boys had never quite heard before. At least it sounded so different to hear the real thing. Roars almost like thunder barking from the darkness miles away. The two boys stared at one another with fear stricken eyes. A snapping twig nearby brought them back to the situation at hand. Fima uttered a soft cry, the camera beginning to tremble.

Miron gazed around and pointed off to signal Fima to aim the camera. The bushes rustled for a moment before silence fell over the area.

"I-I didn't see anything." Fima said in a hushed tone.

"It was probably a deer." Miron suggested. With a wave of his hand as the camera pointed back to him, he lead the way. Back on the trail. They had lost sight of the blood, or any further signs of life. Yet they did not have to walk further than around the nearest redwood to find hanging on twigs of a bush against the bark what appeared to be tattered cloth. It appeared to have belonged to a jacket, or some other article of clothing.

Miron peeled the cloth free to inspect it further and hold it up for the camera to see. Dirt smeared into the fibers, it was damp with a transparent substance. Miron figured it was just water. Mildew, or rain.

"Hey, what's that?" Fima asked, aiming the camera just a little further away.

Miron perked up and turned to look. Something was sticking out from around another tree just a few meters away. When he picked it up, it was found to be a sneaker. Covered in leaves and mud. It was hard to tell if it had been well worn or not until Miron dusted it off a bit.

"I guess someone got lost out here." He said, looking back up to the camera.

A brief flash of bright light overcame the screen and the camera quickly panned around. Miron was no longer looking to the camera. Out in the darkness was a light. Disappearing behind the trees as it moved. It sparked as if it were charged with electricity. At first the boys had only seen one orb of such light, but then another popped up, following the same trail as the first. Then there was another. A fourth one even. The bouts of electricity moved like bolts of lightning right for the ground, or the nearest object to enter the earth. It looked like spindly arms grabbing and pulling the orbs through the air.

As the boys moved closer to inspect the lights, another twig breaking caught their attention. There came a sound of something breathing out just out of their sight. A grumble like a growl followed by a loud hiss. The bushes rustled with movement.

It felt almost like an eternity before something happened. It looked as if the bushes were pushed out of the way, as if something had walked through them, but there was nothing to truly see. The camera had caught the sight of two small robs glowing like that of an alligator's in the light of a flashlight.

Miron screamed as he saw what had charged right for him. The soft thumps of feet upon the dried leaves and grass. Miron's arms had been grabbed and held down at his sides. Then a black figure appeared in front of him, its massive three-clawed hands holding unto Miron tight enough to break his bones.

Fima soon screamed and went to run away only to trip onto his own two feet. The camera fell to the ground, almost rolling. With the screen blurring, the camera soon focused on what it could see. Sat against a tree was someone. There upon the ground, its chin angled upwards, mouth agape. Tattered clothing, a clear sign of a struggle. The mouth looked like nothing more than skin and bones. There were obvious signs of bruising along the neck and jaw still present after all this time as a corpse.

With muffled screams, the camera was scooped back up. Fima had angled the camera back the way they had come and quickly took off. Running as fast as he could, Fima occasionally turned the camera over his shoulder to see what was chasing him, or if anything was at all. All he could catch glimpses off were the eyes glowing in the light. Several pairs of eyes. The telltale signs of predators chasing down their prey.

Growls, huffs, pants, and even roars. Fima could only hear them, he could not see them. Nor could the camera. After nearly a minute of running, Fima found his way back to the fence. He leapt up, nearly dropping the camera, to climb the chain-linked fence.

Before he made it over the top, Fima screamed out a blood curdling sound of fear and agony. The camera fell to the ground, its lense angled at the truck that had been parked a few meters away. The fence rattled from the struggle and Fima continued to scream. Then his screams were muffled. Snarls, cries, and roars sounded out from beyond the camera's view. Like wolves fighting over who got to eat first.


	2. Chapter 2

The truck came to a steady stop in the middle of the road. Loose gravel crunched beneath the tires. Not a soul for miles. Either side of the road was surrounded in fields of golden wheat. The breeze gentle, yet cold. The man in the back of the truck stood up after a moment.

A freshly shaven face. Cold, dark eyes seeming to glow beneath the shadow of his hood. Body covered in the uniform akin to foreign military. He wore battle garb for a modern war. Plate carrier covered in pouches for magazines, grenades, first aid, a map, and various more utensils he would surely need. A German-made rifle strapped to his chest. Kept in pristine condition. Though still young, the creases on his face paved way to the horrors he had already suffered. Little did he know what further demons would rise to torment his tortured

soul...

He pulled the scarf around his neck up over his nose to cover the lower half of his face. He jumped from the truck. When he stepped to the side of the road, the passenger window had been rolled down.

"Good luck out there, man! You're gonna' need it!" Then the window rolled back up and the truck sped away. The man was left in the middle of nowhere. Completely alone. A soul uncaged and free. He could do whatever he wanted. Yet he still felt constrained by the leash of a bargained life. He desired nothing else. He knew no other life. There was a job to be done and he was the one to do it.

He must have stood in the blazing sun for hours. Waiting. Patiently standing. Watching what he could see. A forest to the northwest across fields of wheat. It would be a walk that would take him to night until arrival. It was the only landmark he could see. One he had to know. That was his destination after all. He would have rathered the job alone, but his superiors insisted on a guide. Someone who knew the area like the back of their hand. Yet he was stuck waiting long past the rendezvous time. Could anything be done with this guide if he were not even punctual?

Perhaps another hour went by, he was not sure. The sounds of a distant engine began to grow near. At first he thought it was from down the road, but he soon realized it came from the fields. When he turned around, he caught sight of a massive mare galloping right towards him. Were there no rider upon the horse, he would have moved out of its way. He could feel the hooves pounding into the ground.

The rider pulled on the reins, getting the horse to slow down and turn. The horse was not ready to stop, however. In the dirt on the side of the road, the rider struggled to keep the horse in place, instead getting the beast to prance in a circle right next to the man.

The rider shifted around in the saddle to look the man over. A slender figure that looked like a child in comparison to the horse. Surely too small to mount the beast on her own. The man first noticed the hair. Crimson locks stuck up right into a messy mohawk that would have trailed down her spine were it not brushed over her shoulder. The right side of her head was shaven, but the left was braided tightly against the scalp. She wore old, loose jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt along with a pair of old boots. This could not have been the guide he was waiting on.

The horse whinnied and snorted, refusing to calm down. The rider was forced to keep most of her effort in keeping the horse in place. Accepting this man on the side of the road to be her client, she spoke in her native tongue of Russian.

"Quickly!" She held her hand out to him.

The engines were getting louder and voices could be heard. Though their heads could barely be seen atop the wheat. Bullets were ripping into the asphalt and dirt around them. No wonder the horse could not calm down.

When the rider's hand came around from the circling horse, the man took it and hoisted himself up onto the back of the horse. Once on, the woman pulled on the reins in the other direction to straighten the horse and bolted across the road.

It was amazing the horse was able to stay far ahead of the dirt bikes chasing them. It was only due to having a head start, however. The horse carried two people with a penalty to its speed. The bikes were catching up. The woman knew their only safety would be the forest, so she pulled the reins to lead the horse in the right direction.

The soldiers riding on the backs of the bikes fired their weapons in hopes to hit either the horse, or one of its riders. Perhaps luck was on their side. The bumps in the dirt threw off their aim. They also did not expect to be shot at in turn. The man twisted himself around and pulled up his rifle. Safety flicked off, he aimed, and fired.

With a few unfortunate misses, he soon nailed the nearest soldier in the chest. The bike veered off to topple into the wheat.

One of the bikes sped up to ride next to the horse. Still holding his gun, the soldier on the back reached up to grab the thigh of the man so he could pull him down to the ground. Instead of letting that happen, he used the butt of his rifle to smack into the soldier's arm, then his head. The soldier fell off the bike, rolling in the dirt.

When the third bike came up to the other side of the horse, the woman pulled back on the reins. This made the horse dig its hooves into the earth to skid to a halt. The driver hit his brakes and spun around to be in front of the horse. Spooked, the beast reared up. The man was thrown off its back and the woman nearly with him. Holding on tight, she stood up in the stirrups to stay upon the horse. The mighty beast kicked at the

air, crying out. When it came back down, only the passenger on the bike was able to get out of the way. Those massive hooves crashed repeatedly into the bike and its driver.

While the woman attempted to regain absolute control of the horse, her client got himself back up to his feet. Favoring blunt trauma over wasting ammunition, he attacked the nearest soldier. The last one went for the woman, aiming to take her down from the horse.

The soldier fought back, tackling the man to the ground. They rolled around. Soon, the man knocked the soldier off, and fired a round into his head. Back to his feet, he turned to check on his guide, only to find her struggling against the last soldier.

Pulling on the reins, she got the horse to turn partially one way and then another. This got the horse to notice the danger behind it. More to protect itself than its rider, the horse kicked with one hind leg. The force of a freight train sent the soldier flying back a couple of meters.

Spinning the horse around, the woman looked about in search of both more soldiers and her client. Finding there was no one left and her client was still standing, she relaxed and patted the side of the horse's neck to help it calm down.

With the man getting back upon the horse, they continued on their way. Albeit more peacefully. Night fell by time they got to their destination. The man was tempted to get out his flashlight, but the woman seemed to know exactly where she was going.

The redwoods casted a shadow over the land, making the air feel nearly claustrophobic. It was like being stuck in a small room with no windows, or lights. They could not see their hands in front of their faces. The horse panted and snorted, ears flickering like radars. The slightest sound gave some fright to the beast, making it jump. It remained on its path, however. The woman leaned forward to give a reassuring rub to its neck.

With the rattling of a chain-linked fence, the horse halted. It whinnied and stomped around. With its refusal, the woman signaled the man to get off. Then she got off, holding onto the horse's reins to keep it from running off.

"I will need my payment." She stated, looking to him.

He looked to her silently.

Realizing the man probably did not speak Russian, she repeated herself in English.

Now he responded. Though, not with words. He dug into one of his pouches to produce rolled up bills. Accepting the money, the woman freed the paper from the rubber band, only to grumble in disappointment. American money. She could have sworn she stated it needed to be rubles, but she would have to deal. She flipped through the bills, taking a few to hold between her lips. She pushed the rest of the money into a pocket.

"There are rules you must follow." She said, she folded the bills from her mouth and tucked them beneath the horse's saddle.

"Finger off trigger." She held up a single finger so he could see. "Follow my steps exactly." A second

finger. "Do as I tell you." A third finger. "Otherwise you may die."

The man gave a nod of his head. Though he was admittedly naive to her world, he did not think her rules to be for anyone's safety. She simply wanted control over something. Perhaps he was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, there was truth to her words. She was hired as a guide for a reason. There was something his commanding officer had kept from him, or did not know himself. Yet he could not help, but feel like a child. He was

a man who could walk on his own. He could control himself. He could handle life on his own. He did not need someone to tell him what to do.

He was not sent here to wage war. He would, unfortunately, obey her rules for the time being. The horse had enough of the torment. When the woman turned from it, it reared up. Kicking at the air, it called out and ran off.

The man watched the horse, then looked to the woman. She thought nothing of it. It was clear the horse was scared. Yet he saw nothing, nor heard anything.

"The horses will not go beyond the wall." The woman said, dismissing the animal's fear.

Not caring if the man had any questions, she turned to clamber over the chain-linked fence. On the other side, she fished out her flashlight. Once he was over the fence, she lead the way through the darkness. Perhaps if they had the light of the moon they could see decently. The redwoods blocked out any light from the outside. The use of flashlights was a necessity just so they could see where they were going.

The man had a flash light with a red lens to keep the light from drawing too much attention. The woman had a similar light, only the red color came from a red piece of plastic taped to the end of the flash light.

She had no weapons on her that the man could see. She certainly had not brought any out when it was needed. The man was not particularly scared, no. He could not help, but feel a weight upon his shoulders. A sense of uneasiness as if he were being watched. Something was following them. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. His skin tingled with anxiousness. He could not believe that the chain-linked fence separated two completely different worlds. It was like he stepped into a whole new universe. He felt as if he did not belong. He was unwanted here.

Perhaps the ground would open up beneath him and swallow him whole. The trees would uproot themselves and devour him.

Nothing in his mission briefing could prepare him for this. There was so little about the environment to be known. He could remember the last time he were afraid. The last time he felt his death was around the corner. The touch of the air upon his body was similar to those memories. The world was reminding him of those times. Hanging them in front of him like a noose. Taunting him to tread further. His lungs nearly constricted in his chest. Like the air could kill him at any moment.

What was this place?

Watching the woman at the lead, he could tell that she was not like him at all. Not because of her clothing, or even how she talked. Each step she took, each sway of her arms, her hips. She moved in a way that made him feel like she were an animal. It was like watching a deer in the forest, wandering around. A dog in a field, playing in the wind. He did not know the words to describe what he saw in her.

She respected the earth beneath her feet. She respected the trees, the fauna. She thanked the air with each breath. She asked the world for nothing more than she absolutely needed. She walked unarmed in the darkness, not knowing what horrors lurked beyond the edges of her light, and yet there was no fear. There was no concern. She loved this world the way a child loves its mother.

They must have walked for hours before the woman finally came to a stop. Without a word, she knelt down in front of a fallen tree. Biting unto the end of the flashlight, she used both hands to dig into the leaves and twigs. The man found himself holding his own flash light to give her more lighting for whatever it was she was doing.

After a few minutes of digging, the woman pulled out a pack that would strap to her waist and hang against her thigh. With that set aside, she stood up and proceeded to strip with her flash light propped on the fallen tree.

The man watched her out of curiosity. He was not sure what she was doing, or why. He glanced around the shadows occasionally, but those blue-eyes were focused upon her. First her shirt was off. Then her boots. Finally, her pants. It was then the man realized exactly what she was doing. He quickly turned his head away to find something else to focus on. The woman must not have cared if he was there, or not.

When the man glanced to her to see her progress on being re-dressed, she was fully clothed. An old Soviet Gorka uniform of blacks and tans and knee-high boots. There was even a tattered scarf around her neck. Yet the woman was still not ready. From where she had dug, she removed various pieces of armor. Her left leg was well armored with re-purposed metals and leather. Her right shin was armored to match. Her right arm, and left forearm were suited up. She even had something akin to an archer's breastplate over the left side

of her chest with re-purposed saw blades as a pauldron. There was even some strangely forged metals upon her back that appeared to be used to hold something. Furs and leathers were the last pieces of clothing. Then there was barbed wire she crazily wrapped around parts of her limbs. The man even caught side of pieces of a chain-linked fence around her forearms and shins.

The last things to put on were a homemade thigh-holster and pouches strapped to her belt and left thigh. She buried her old clothes and dug deeper under the tree. When she stood up this time, she had weapons. A kukri, she attached to the back of her belt, a pristine Dragunov complete with the original cherry wood furniture, she slung over her back, and finally a full-automatic Saiga shotgun, she slung over her shoulder

to be held.

The man wondered why she would dress herself differently on the other side of the fence. If she were going to be caught like she was earlier then would it not have been better to be armed? The possibility of her equipment being stolen had to have been high as well.

"We will go to Yanov. We can part there if you wish." She adjusted the shotgun over her chest to be held by her left hand. Her flashlight remained in her right so she could see her way.

"Do you have a name?" She asked, stepping over to him.

The man stared at her in silence.

"Then I will call you 'Prizrak'." She shrugged. Her job was not like his. As far as she was concerned anyway. She did not actually know why this man, the one she named 'Prizrak,' was sent into her precious world. She was being paid to escort him inside and make sure he lives. She was nothing more than his guide. Why would she care about him anymore than her contract stated?

"You can call me 'Sem,' by the way."

He repeated her name in his head. He may never actually use it himself, but it would be good to know either way.

"Komne, Prizrak! These woods are danger!" Before he knew it, Sem was marching on ahead. Prizrak hurried to catch up, remaining only feet behind her.

They would walk for what felt like hours. Sem could not get out of the forest fast enough. The deep seeded feeling of uneasiness; of being watched could never be shaken. It was bad enough knowing there may be something around the corner. Yet to feel, no, to know that you are being stalked was a different, unnerving thing. Despite the insane amount of danger, many found the forest to be the safest route in and out of this world. You could only travel through during the day. It was a bit safer. When night came, the monsters would

awaken.

Sem knew the unspoken rules well. Had the military not caught sight of her at the wall, they would have already been out of the forest long before the blue disappeared from the sky. Each step she took revitalized her memories. It was on a night just like this when her death was certain. The reaper would have gotten her were it not for this very forest. It may harbor the monsters that slaughter so many, but it may also give

life.

That was why Prizrak was here. Sent in by his superiors to figure out phenomena just like Sem. Not necessarily the people, but the creatures. The unexplainable happenings. He was to record and bring back any specimens he could get his hands on. The issue he was going to have; he did not know what these specimens were. He could only wonder how hard it could be.

Sem slowed down just enough to look over their surroundings. There was a landmark she needed to find in the darkness to assure she was on the right path. She had been through this forest hundreds of times, but that meant almost nothing for this world. Things often changed without warning. One day a house would be there,the next it would be gone without a trace. Prizrak watched her closely for a short time, however a snapping twig caught his attention.

He raised his rifle to be ready to shoot in case it was something hunting them down. The woman had turned to check on him just in time for her attention to be caught by movement in the trees above them. A few leaves had fallen down between the pair, along with a small twig. He shined the light up into the branches only to find an over-sized red squirrel gnawing on a nut.

Sem almost laughed. It had been a long time since she witnessed a new comer. She had grown up in this world, so she was used to the sounds. She knew the difference between a squirrel and a wolf. Prizrak would have to learn it as well.

A snort, much like that of a horse, came from the shadows. This prompted Sem to flick her flashlight off. She waved her hand at Prizrak, nearly grabbing the flashlight from him. Before he could turn it off, the creature that made the noise stepped into crimson rays.

A large beast, much larger than that of the mare they had ridden. Enormous hooves sharp as a lion's claw. They could not see its head, but it was clearly a deer. One far different than any deer Prizrak had seen before. This one seemed to be too big with overly muscled thighs and shoulders. Its ribs could be were extra limbs sprouting from it. A hairless tail from the middle of its spine. A hind leg from its sternum.

The deer did not notice them at first, but the light lingered too long upon it and its vision. With a snort, the beast twisted its neck around. When the light moved up to its face, the pair was greeted with a long maw of dagger-like fangs and gums. Its breath was visible in the cold air with each snort. Massive antlers sprouted sporadically from the top of its head. If Prizrak did not know any better, he would assume the flesh hanging from the sharpened crown was from annual shedding, but he could have sworn he saw the upper skull of a wolf.

Sem reached out slowly to grab the back of the man's belt. She tugged gently, getting him to step backwards. Carefully, he flicked the light off and followed Sem's touch to get out of the area.

"If you shoot, we die." She whispered.

She continued to tug on his belt. Perhaps they could have ran, any inexperienced fool would have. The stag may not have been on the hunt, but it would still most likely pursue them were they to turn tail and run. It was best to back up slowly. To get out of its way and its sight. The sooner the better. After a near minute of walking backwards, Sem let go of Prizrak's belt and turned around. She walked a little faster than before. They could have been in danger still. It was another minute before she flicked her flashlight on.

Eventually, they came upon a small building. Half of the building was rubble upon the ground. In the middle was a wired bin filled with twigs and tinder. It had been used as a fire some time in the past. Trash littered the foundation. Traces of ancient blood stained the grains. A wooden, make shift ladder lead the way to what was left of the second floor.

When they had climbed up to the small space, Sem pulled the ladder up. Small crates lined the edges of the rickety boards. It provided some shelter from prying eyes and wind. There was a small bucket used for a fire, and even a single sleeping bag left behind.

Prizrak sat himself down against the solid wall while Sem took one of the crates. There was enough space for three people to lay down, so they had plenty of room. The woman adjusted her pack over her lap, and removed her weapons to better relax. The man had even done it. They would be here for some time. Though neither would admit it, they needed the rest.

Sem dug into her pack to produce a wad of wax paper. It served as minor protection to half a loaf of bread. She held the loaf out over the fire.

"Have a bite. If you will be here for any extended time, you should get used to the food."

The loaf looked like a normal piece of bread. Once Prizrak broke a piece off, he found it to be completely stale. He was surprised there was no mold anywhere on it. He almost did not want to eat it, but Sem was enjoying it. How bad could it be?

Very bad. It was absolutely putrid. The staleness was something he could work through, but the moment the crumbs touched his tongue, he gagged. He would have to wash his mouth out with bleach and fill his stomach with charcoal by time he was done with this single bite.

Sem looked to him confused. Then she looked to the loaf of bread in her hand. She could not understand how it was tasting so horrible for him. While it did not taste particularly good, it was not gag worthy. Perhaps because she grew up with food like this. It was much easier to keep bread and dried meats. She could not always hunt, nor did she wish to spend precious money on food. Prizrak would have to get used to the food here, or else he would not last longer than a couple of weeks.

After rinsing his mouth out, Prizrak took out a notepad from a pouch on his chest. Flipping it open to the first page, he began to write.

Sem turned her head from it to look down below. At this hour they would not have to deal with other they would be safe up here, they were bound to leave eventually. The creatures here were certainly patient. If it meant a meal, they would wait down there for weeks.

Looking up from his notepad to keep an eye on Sem, Prizrak took the time to look her over. She looked almost like a knight of old. The homemade armor crafted by a skilled hand from pure salvage. He could only expect every inch of it was well thought out and carried a purpose. To bring anything without a purpose would be a waste of space and weight. Speed and endurance played a great role in this environment. As for the military uniform she wore; perhaps she was an ex-soldier? Either that, or she found it. It was a soviet uniform and the patch on her left arm proved it. She was certainly not old enough to have served then, however.

Prizrak decided to flip to the last page to right down his notes about her. What she wore. What he speculated the use of some of her items were. He even sketched out the patch on her arm and some of her clothing. Then in the flicker light of the tiny fire separating them, he noticed something he surprisingly had not noticed before. Everything had happened so fast, how could he be bothered to stare then? The right side of her head had been shaven, but perhaps for a good reason. There was an enormous scar deep in her skin. It appeared to be claw marks like that of a bear. Had she been mauled? Though he could not see it very well due to the scarf and fur around her shoulders, there was another interesting scar upon her neck. From what he could see,it made him think of a squid, or maybe an octopus. Maybe just a bad reaction to a wasp.

Still, Prizrak took note and even sketched it out quickly. He would detail it best he could.

Unfortunately, he would not be able to sketch it for long. Sem had flipped the bucket over to smother the flame. She must have heard something he did not. Prizrak closed the notepad, slipped it into his pouch and picked his rifle up from his lap.

Sem placed a finger to her lips to signal him to stay quiet. Both peered over the edge of the second floor to see what was there. That was when the sound came clearly for Prizrak to hear. A snarl. Almost like a gurgle. Yet they could still see no source of the sound.

Sem's eyes were fixed on the ground. Perhaps she could see it. When the man looked, he stared long and a while, he could see nothing. Then came the faintest glow of a yellowish white. A pair of orbs floating in the air. The longer he stared, the more he could see. The shades of greys and blacks, barely visible in the little moonlight were shifting around slowly. When the orbs moved through the air, the greys followed. It was like watching a chameleon dance back and forth.

Sem's hands were shaking. Was she nervous? Perhaps she was scared. Her eyes were fixed on the invisible figure down below. She knew exactly what this creature was and what it was capable of.

There was more to this world than Prizrak would have guessed. He was expecting people. Humans. Yet all he had gotten thus far were unknown creatures. Creatures out of some novel, or a movie. Things that should not have existed to begin with.

The sounds coming from the creature sounded almost as if it were having a conversation. There must have been more than one.

After a few minutes, Sem relaxed. Prizrak could not see the orbs any longer. The creature must have gone. Sem fixed the bucket and lit the fire once more. This time she kept it lower so the flame did not stretch out of the bucket.

"They had been following us." Sem said, looking over to the man. "It will be safer at day."

Neither of them slept that night. Sem's everlasting fear of those creatures kept her awake. Prizrak's naivety kept him alert. He was not sure if the sounds he heard were simply his imagination, or the wind. He could have sworn he heard someone scream. He caught sight of mice, squirrels, and other small rodents. Though they were no threats, they still had his attention. None of the animals here were like he remembered. These were different creatures.


	3. Chapter 3

When the sun finally rose, they packed their things. Lowered the ladder. Climbed down. They wrapped around the building, cautiously moving through the rubble. There were only a few buildings in the area. Most likely serving as storage, or workshops before they had been destroyed. After a decade of abandonment, it was nearly impossible to tell what their use originally was.

Sem was visibly more relaxed than the night before. Prizrak did not think she could have been better at all. She walked with a greater confidence. No longer restricted to the draw of their flash lights, they felt safer. Still, the rummaging in the bushes caught their attention. Even in broad daylight there were still dangers left to be seen.

"We're almost there." Sem glanced to Prizrak while putting away her mapping device.

He found it hard to believe they were almost anywhere. It felt like they were walking around in circles. Every bush, and tree looked exactly the same to him. They followed no path, but had certainly crossed over a few. Sem soon came to a stop. Laying upon the ground not too far away was a hunk of meat. A dismembered boar leg by the look of it. It wreaked of rotting flesh and seemed to be barely gnawed on. Perhaps a day, or two old. No signs of a fight. The beast must have been torn limb from limb.

Prizrak looked on curiously, glancing around to find anymore evidence. Sure enough there was plenty. Bones and chunks of rotted meat. Sem took an interest, but she pressed on. She knew what was up ahead. The man could not understand how he did not see it sooner.

The earth had risen upwards like a spider's web. Twenty or so meters highs. Trees had been embedded into the walls, most likely having been there before the earth came to life. Large cracks, forming crevices were the safest way sin and out of the dome of dirt and grass.

Clearly something sinister lay within. Yet Sem marched on! She followed the edge of a crevice all the way to the walls of the web. Prizrak followed closely. What more could this world hold? Down a dozen meters to the raw earth below was the most bewildering sight he could have predicted.

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing there. No cave for a wild creature to call home. No evidence that something even lived in the dome! All Prizrak could see were dead leaves swirling around as if in a ballet. Yet his guide was absolutely intrigued it appeared. She stared into the emptiness of the dome. She studied the dance of the leaves.

Prizrak looked up to her once she stood. She adjusted her shotgun over her chest so it would not be in her way. She tugged on her scarf to pull it up over her nose and unclipped a device from her hip. It appeared to be a radar of some sort. Once it was turned on, the screen lit up with green lines. It beeped repeatedly, once every few seconds.

"You may stay here if you wish. If you follow, then match my step."

Of course, he followed her. His curiosity got the better of him. She saw something he could not and he wanted to know what exactly was hidden there. They walked down the crevice at a painfully slow pace. Sem's eyes were glued to her radar. When the beeping grew more frequent, she looked up and stopped. She stared at seemingly nothing at all.

Then she moved to the left, making her way out of the crevice. The beeping slowed down. As she made her way through the dome, the beeping's pace changed far too frequently for comfort. When her steps no longer changed that frequency, she and Prizrak stopped dead in their tracks.

The dead leaves danced around them, forming tiny tornadoes wherever they looked. It was now Prizrak realized there was no breeze here. The air tugged on his clothes as if beckoning him forth. The loose end of his scarf visibly lifted from his chest and stretched outward. He felt these odd tugs in all directions.

Sem softly bit unto her lower lip. She watched her radar, then looked up. Her hair was being pulled just like the man's scarf. She attached the radar back to her hip and dug into another pouch. When she unfurled her fingers, she revealed a large bolt.

Prizrak raised a brow, lips parting behind his scarf.

"On my go, run." She looked him dead in the eye.

He nodded.

Shifting slightly, she bounced the bolt in her hand and threw it as hard as she could. Once it was just a foot in front of them the leaves picked up in their dance. The pull on their hair and clothes strengthened. Dust kicked up from the ground and swirled like a twister closing in around a central point in the air about eleven meters ahead.

Sem reached out to Prizrak to grab hold of his vest. The very air twisted and pulled sucking in everything around that central point. The sound that came was gut wrenching. Hollow and mangled like the song of Jupiter. A warning like the sound of a freight train upon the arrival of a tornado. Just as the song would end, the leaves, bolt, and gravel lifted high above their heads. The objects seemed to implode at first, the very atoms that made them up collapsing in on themselves. Then they exploded in a massive torrent of energy, nearly shoving the bystanders off their feet.

"Now!" Sem shouted. She pulled on Prizrak as if he needed the boost, but he was already on the move. Sem followed closely as they rushed through the flying debris. Their safety could only last mere seconds. While they moved, Sem's radar flared out with this tell tale beeps and both of their geiger counters screeched like banshees.

They were not even out of range of the pull before the unseen threat was already yanking on their frames. It sung out quietly before calming back down.

Sem grabbed hold of Prizrak's arm, stopping him before he got too far. They were not necessarily in the clear just yet. Their geiger counters quieted down, but Sem's radar was still calling out. Their loose clothing pulled on their frames.

Sem grabbed her radar and began to walk, following the clicks. It was not long before she stopped. She slipped down to a knee, tucking away the radar. Prizrak reached out to touch her back, thinking she had been hurt. When he leaned over, he found her slipping on a new glove for her right hand. Something thick and cumbersome. Made mostly from lead. Sem reached out towards the ground in front of her.

Once her gloved fingers curled, what she was reaching for revealed itself. She snatched it up from the ground and held it up for inspection. The object was completely black, though seemed to glow. It shined as if it had just been waxed. Prizrak swore it looked like a fish.

Sem whistled at the sight of the object she held. She took on an expression of pride.

"This, my friend, is why you were sent." She said.

Prizrak began to reach for the object just to touch it. Was it really as smooth as it appeared? It was like was holding a large, black marble.

"Don't be stupid!" She snapped, pulling the object from him. With her free hand, she unclipped her geiger counter from her hip. It did not start screeching until it was nearly against the object, but the amount of radiation spewing from it explained the special glove.

She put the geiger counter away and looked up to the man. "Were it anything other than this, I would allow you to take it. I'm afraid I need more than you." She twisted around, grabbing a tall, lead box from the back of her pack against her thigh. She held it out to Prizrak so he could open it for her and she dropped the artifact inside.

"Komne, Prizrak." She stepped ahead, leading the way through the unseen threats.

Though he was curious why they would not go back the way they came, he was also not surprised they would not try. The danger for either direction appeared to be the same for him. Sem had navigated through as if she could see exactly what was there. Prizrak had focused a bit too much on following her steps to look, but whenever she stopped to stare, so did he.

He was beginning to see the pattern of the dust and leaves by time they were walking through another crevice. He understood now why a guide was hired. He admittedly would have walked right into his death multiple times and he had not even been in this world for a day.

Outside of the crevice, Sem sat herself down in the grass. They were in a small clearing thanks to the earthen dome. With little shrubbery to disguise anything that may lurk beyond the corner of their eye, they could relax a little.

Prizrak joined the woman, sitting down across from her. He watched her carefully for a minute to read her. When she adjusted her pack over her lap, he knew they would be staying for a small while.

"I'm not going to take care of you," Sem said. An odd statement that certainly came from nowhere. "I may be a guide, but I am not mother." She pointed a gloved finger at him. Digging into her pack, she produced a small steel outdoor stove. A folded cylindrical piece of metal dotted with holes like swiss cheese was placed upon the ground first. Using a small metal canister, she lit tinder aflame and used the nearby dead, dry leaves and twigs to keep a fire burning.

While Prizrak watched her start cooking what he could only imagine being some sort of animal from this world, he thought on her words. Did he somehow give her the impression he needed to be taken care of? Perhaps this was just something she normally had to state for other clients. He did not want, nor needed to be taken care of. While he needed guidance in the natural phenomenon, he was a grown man. Albeit a soldier! Who did she think she was? She was no better than him! If anything, he had more experience than her. At least that was how it felt to him. Their experiences may have varied, but by how much did they really?

The more he watched her, the more he learned about her. She was not full of herself, merely confident. Used to naive fools, not realizing the dangers of this world. She was chosen out of how many other self-acclaimed guides? She had to have been worth every penny.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Sem asked, flipping the small steaks. She had only seasoned the hunks of meat with salt and what appeared to be paprika.

Prizrak took a few sips of water from his canteen, remaining silent.

"I like that..." She leaned back upon a hand. While she looked to him for what felt the first time, he was able to catch the color of her eyes. Grey. Not a normal, blue-grey like some eyes so happen to be. He could see the faint traces of green. It appeared to be curtains pulling over, not just the color, but the entire eye.

Was she blind?!

Prizrak raised a brow at the thought. Finding himself staring in wonder, he blinked and straightened his back. "I would have welcomed you to my home sooner, but..." She breathed out slowly, her head turning to look to the nearby trees. "The Red Forest is no place for...how to say...idle chit chat. Hopefully you will not be required to return here. Your studies should allow some leisure in the fields. I would say even the Swamps, but those are almost as dangerous." Her lips pursed as she looked down to the steaks.

Sem was used to people asking question after question like small children. This Prizrak, however, was the complete opposite. Silent like a ghost. She could believe him to be nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Surely that would not be unusual.

She decided to think of the questions she was always asked and give him the answers.

"This world is caged. Perhaps for the better. You are aware of the history of this place, da?" She waved him off. "Of course you are. The whole disaster... This place was not always like this. The military already tried to evacuate due to the radiation spill, but some time afterwards...This place was birthed. Kind of like you, or I. Some said there was a blinding white light that washed over all the land. Some heard trumpets, but some say it was just silence. That was when the military blocked everything. Said no one may enter. They called it the Exclusion Zone."

Taking some paper, she pulled one of the steaks off the makeshift grill just to hand it to Prizrak. She took the second one for herself.

Sem did not continue to speak until she had taken a bite of food. Prizrak sat there quietly, listening to her. He was not sure about eating the food from this world, this..Exclusion Zone, especially when he had a perfectly good MRE in his backpack. He could feel she was right, though. He had to get used to the atrocious food.

"Many here simply call it The Zone, but I call it home. There's too many things to name that want to kill you here. It's not just people, or animals either. The Zone itself will kill you." She pointed to the earthen dome they had just traversed through earlier. "Anomalies are everywhere, but most are not...Euh...They move around. Sometimes you can find artifacts in them." She perked up now and reached for that lead container attached to her pack.

Slipping on the specialized glove, she pulled out the strange object to set it on the ground for Prizrak to admire. It was now he decided to quit eating and pull out his notepad. He flipped to a fresh page and quickly scribbled. He wrote what she told him and sketched out what he saw in hopes this would aid his studies.

"We used to find them like apples on a tree. Anymore...not so much." She shook her head. "There are many different ones. Anomalies, and artifacts. Some are rarer than others, stronger than others. I don't think I can teach you it all so soon. Honestly, there is no teaching. You must learn it as the Mother wants you to."

Prizrak had this feeling she was being vague on purpose. The way she addressed this world...Not simply by the words, but the tones she used. There was a deep seeded love. Like a child for its mother. To her, this world was so much more than Prizrak could imagine. It was just a hunk of abandoned land, that suffered a great catastrophe to him. Just another job. He could not begin to understand her view point, nor did he even want to.

Shifting, Prizrak turned back to the anomaly field so he could sketch it on a pair of pages.

Sem did not have much more to say. Could there really be no more to this world? To this Zone? Perhaps in his travels he will run into more anomalies and hopefully he will gather artifacts of his own. He would have to invest in some equipment it seemed.

When he was done, he flipped over to the page he had sketched Sem on. He wrote a few more notes, then shut the pad. While he did that, Sem cleaned up the stove, stuffing everything left over into her pack.

"Komne, Prizrak." She said, stepping past him.

Looking up, the man got to his feet and followed after her.

The next few hours of walking were done in near silence. The fact that Sem was so relaxed made Prizrak calm. He almost forgot about the dangers surrounding them. The land they walked could be mistaken for having never been touched by human hands. The trees were ancient and the grass was entirely unkempt. The sky was the bluest he had ever seen. When they finally broke the tree line late into the afternoon, the wide expanse of rolling hills and wild fields were bewildering. He could even see various wild life grazing! Creatures he could barely recognize, if at all.

The signs of radiation were obvious in the creatures. Horribly mutated... It seemed cruel to allow them to continue existing. Prizrak actually felt a desire to exterminate all of the animals just for the sake of kindness. There were galloping mounds of flesh with smooshed in faces and strange spider-like legs. They sounded almost like pigs squealing.

Peaceful? He could not believe so. Sem showed no concern, possibly due to the distance. At least they would see the creatures coming before it was too late.

The breeze out here in the fields was cooling. Prizrak was not sure if he had been in a place of similarity before, or not. He had a sense of familiarity with the way the grass danced in the wind, the way the air smelled, and that tingling sensation at the tips of his fingers. His guard was slowly dropping. He honestly felt comfortable here. This place was calming despite the dangers that lurked. He had been told that the

Zone would kill everyone in it without mercy. Yet he had yet to see any death. There were creatures, and natural phenomena more than capable of slaughter, but Sem had proved the Zone would do no harm unless it was harmed first.

Prizrak cleared his thoughts, pulling his rifle up a bit. He could not afford to get distracted. He had a job to do. This place meant nothing to him. It was nothing more than a diseased world. A cancerous tumor upon the Earth. He knew eventually, this place would be destroyed and he could only wonder if he would be part of it. Not far in the distance stood a house with a faded red roof. The windows had been busted out and it appeared to be in shambles. Vines had attached themselves to the walls. What would have been its yard was wildly overgrown. As they got closer to the home, they could hear rushing water.

The sound made Sem perk up. She hurried up ahead just to the front of the house. Prizrak took his time to catch, figuring she was not going to stray too far. When he had gotten up to her side, he saw what she was in awe of.

A flood. It was almost like a small valley, the way the earth sunk in. The river had more than tripled in size. Its rushing current ate away at the banks. Large chunks of the earth broke off to be taken away down river.

Sem was clearly disappointed. She planned this route in advance. It was supposed to be the fastest way to Yanov, but with the flooding the only way across was gone.

Growling to herself, Sem turned around to face her client.

"There's normally a bridge here." She waved her hand in dismissal. Arms crossing over her chest, she sighed. "I did not realize the water was so bad. I would have lead us elsewhere."

Another chunk of earth had been pulled from the bank, threatening to take the front porch of the home with it.

"We will have to go west where the next bridge i-" Before she could even finish her sentence, the earth ripped out from beneath her feet. She uttered a yelp of surprise, knowing she would most likely end up trapped in the vicious torrents.

Luckily, Prizrak had reacted fast enough to grab her wrist. He yanked on her arm, pulling her from the cave in and up off the ground just to assure there would be no struggle against the flood. Sem had fallen against him, his hand moving to her shoulder to hold her up.

Safe from the water, Sem quickly backed off, adjusting the strap of her shotgun. She cleared her throat, and fixed her hair, refusing to even look in his direction. The last thing she expected was to be saved.

Especially from a rookie! At least he had done something, however. Most would have let her fall and drown.

"Komne." She said, shifting her weight. At first she faced the wrong way, taking a step towards the east.

Quickly realizing her mistake, she shifted back to the west and moved on, shouldering past her client.

Blinking, Prizrak watched her. Though he did not expect verbal gratitude, he at least expected something more than her getting frustrated. Perhaps she thought she had to prove herself? That would be odd, he thought. She was an expert out here, what more did she need to prove? It could be the lack of vision...How hard it must be for someone handicapped in such a way out here in this hellish world.

Shaking his head to free his mind of the thoughts, he moved to catch up to Sem.

They walked near the river's edge. Prizrak pulled out his compass to check the direction. He hoped they were headed where they needed to go, but he found it hard to believe she picked the right direction. Not like it would matter if she made a mistake. When he looked down to the compass, he found them certainly heading west. Soon, the sun began to set. Its golden rays fading between the branches of the redwood trees. The colors of the sky shifted to oranges and reds. Prizrak expected things to calm down at nightfall. The last night in the forest was quiet despite their being stalked. Yet out here in the fields, it seemed the wildlife only grew more restless.

A scream off in the distance caught Prizrak's attention. It was clearly a human screaming. He nearly stopped to get a better listen, but Sem marched on. The only thing that made her stop was a cry of fear nearby.

Luckily, it was still light enough out for them to see without the use of flashlights. Sem stopped and turned to the river. There was a malnourished canine on the other side of the river. It barked and jumped around, not to get their attention, but out of not knowing what to do. The blind canine did not even see them, or smell them across the river. Its focus was upon its friend, whom was trapped in the rushing water.

The canine was clinging unto the edge of the bank, trying to hoist itself back up. The muddy slope only caused it to slip back down until the water tore it from the edge. Crying out, the canine was taken down stream. Sem stared at the canine, watching as it was dragged through the currents.

Prizrak did not expect what came next. Sem, stripped herself of her weapons, dropping them on the ground. She rushed to the river bank, nearly slipping into the water. She untied the rope wrapped up against her pack and quickly worked it into a lasso. She moved down the bank to get ahead of the canine's flow. Then she tossed the rope.

Hitting the top of the canine's head, the rope slipped off and into the water. So, Sem pulled it back in, and tried again. Another failure. On the third try, she got the rope around the dog's head. The canine cried out, panicking even more. Yet Sem pulled, reeling the terrified animal in from the water.

Standing on the edge of the bank, Sem struggled to keep the canine headed in the right direction. Her boots slipped into the mud, the earth threatening to send her into the starving currents. Despite the dangers, Sem continued reeling until the dog was against the bank. She had steadily slipped into the water almost to her waist. Luckily, she was able to keep her footing.

Crying, the canine tried to scale through the mud to no avail. It was up to Sem to slip further down the bank to grab hold of the rope around its neck to hoist it up and over. Once it was half-way up, Sem moved to crawl up as well.

Prizrak hurried closer, grabbing the woman's arm to help her up to safety. Twice already she needed saving. She put herself in harms way intentionally to save some mutt. One that should have been left for dead.

Sitting upon her knees, Sem pulled the dog entirely off the bank. When she reached for the rope to take it off the canine, it yelped and snapped.

Yelping herself, Sem pulled her hand away. A decent bite. Its sharp teeth had punctured through her padded glove and into the skin enough to draw a good deal of blood.

Prizrak raised his rifle, flicking the safety off, finger slipping over the trigger. He was seconds from putting the mutt down.

"Net! Stop!" She raised a hand, grabbing hold of the rope to keep the canine down. "It is only scared! Let it be." She only turned back to the canine once her client lowered his weapon.

Freeing the dog free from the rope, she spoke to it in her native tongue. "Shh. It's okay, little one. You're safe now."

She wrapped the rope up around her arm, using the space between her thumb and forefinger, along with her elbow to keep the threads tight and neatly woven. The dog gazed up to her, shaking from being wet, cold, and scared.

"Go on. Go back to your friend."

Sem slowly stood up, attaching the rope back to her pack. The dog was not going to budge, too nervous around a pair of potential predators. Only after Sem gathered her weapons and lead Prizrak away from the canine, did it get up to greet its friend from across the river. They were going to have to figure out how to reunite. Brave, or stupid? A combination of both, Prizrak thought. This woman was crazy. Risking her life for some wild animal like that. He never would have done that. He would most likely not do it for a fellow human. Not unless they were a member of his unit anyway.

He looked over to the woman, especially her blood soaked hand.

"We'll go to the burned village for the night. It is safe there." She shook the excess blood from her glove, letting her hand hang down at her side. Her left hand would be used over the receiver of the shotgun to rest.

The next few hours were uneventful. The air was filled with sounds of unique creatures. Distant gunfire. The occasional screech of terror. Prizrak was not sure how many people decided to call this place home, but it had to have been more than he expected. He had only heard other humans, however. Ones extremely far away.

Upon their arrival at the village, Prizrak found the meaning of its name. A small village had been burnt to charcoal. There were only remnants left. Some support beams and whatever was left of brick walls. Even the ground appeared to be made of charcoal. Embers shined through the darkness. Little sparks and flashes of light from dying fires danced through the air.

The smell of fire was fresh, like something was still burning. There was even the sound of a crackling fire as if just beneath the surface of the ground was a raging inferno.

Before they even got through the fencing that lined most of the town, Sem's device, the anomaly detector, clicked loudly. Even Prizrak knew it meant there was an anomaly nearby. It was not the same sort of beep as when she found the artifact. Moving the flashlight side to side slowly, he searched for the signs of the invisible traps.

Sem pulled on the scarf around her neck to loosen it a tad. The extreme heat was making their longs constrict more than usual. It was a little harder to breathe.

"It's hotter than usual..." Sem remarked.

It may have been nearly unbearably hot, but at least they would be warm for the night.

"Komne, Prizrak. Follow closely." Sem pulled the scarf up over her nose and took a cautious step forward.

Standing within the fence's line, the detector beeped more frequently. Just like a metal detector, they followed the beeps to assure a safe passage. Instead of heading for the most frequent beeps, they headed for the lesser.

They moved much slower than when they handled the previous anomaly. Sem's steps seemed more deliberate. She put more thought into each one.

After a few minutes moving at a snail's pace, the detector beeped far too frequently no matter which way the woman moved. Like rat's in a maze, they were met with a dead end. Sem took a step back, nearly walking right into Prizrak. He was prompted to move back to give her space, but Sem turned around to grab hold of his arm.

She shook her head, squeezing his elbow tightly. When it was clear he was not going to budge, she let go and grabbed the detector from her hip. She held it out at arm's length back the way they had come. Sure enough, their worst fear came to life. The detector beeped quick enough to show there was an anomaly blocking their way back.

They had just a little over a meter of space available. While these anomalies did not constantly move, the fact one of them had moved when it did only gave way to the others moving as well. There was no telling how much time they had. Soon they would be dead.

Wherever Sem held the detector out to, it barked wildly. She moved slowly, carefully. It felt like their meter of space was dwindling rapidly. Claustrophobia wasted no time in settling into their chests. The tension in the heated air made it that much harder to breathe. Sweat pooled upon their skin, the taste of salt potent on their lips and tongues.

After an eternity slowly suffocating in the rising temperature, Sem moved like a cat. One step up onto a pile of loose rubble, the second step onto a support beam turned charcoal. Her weight allowed her to move quickly. She had made it into what was left of a building where the detector became silent.

Now it was up to Prizrak to get himself to safety. Sem stood just ahead of him, waving her hand for him to follow.

"Come, come! Quickly!" She said. "Exactly where I went!"

Prizrak stared at the ground, picturing where her boots moved. He felt rushed, as if the seconds in an hourglass were running out. He moved quickly, but when he went to step up unto the beam, the rubble below gave way under the weight. The beam slipped down, which threw off his balance. A boot slipped down first to catch his weight and he would have been all right if his foot did not get close enough to trigger the anomaly.

From the ground blew a massive pillar of swirling fire. Almost like a tornado, it spiraled in place, shooting up flames a few meters into the sky. Grunting, Prizrak stumbled further to get away from the fire. He was bound to fall unto his rear from losing his balance.

Sem was a quick thinker. She did not even hesitate to try to save him. She was back up on the rubble, dropping the detector on the ground so she had the use of both hands. First, she grabbed the shoulder strap of his plate carrier with her stronger hand and pulled.

Throwing her weight backwards, Sem had fallen, taking Prizrak with her. Sem's head cracked against the solid ,ground inside the ruins. He had nearly fallen against her, but his hands caught his weight. Hissing from the pain at the back of her skull, Sem started to chuckle behind the scarf over her nose. Then her eyes opened and she gasped.

Prizrak straightened his back so he sat upon his knees over her. He had realized it as well. His right arm was lit with flames. He quickly patted at the fire to put it out before it caused too much damage. Sem sat herself up to pat at the back of his head, yanking his hood down to smother the flames.

She sighed in relief, leaning back upon her hands. Her mouth was still hidden behind the scarf, but Prizrak could see the smile on her face. Her chuckling almost made his lips crack a faint smile of their own. He could tell she was not laughing at the misfortune, only at the idea of it being so close.

Up to her feet, Sem scooped up the detector to clip it back to her belt. Then she sat back down upon the ground. Prizrak sat down across from her. As dangerous as it was for them to get this far into the village, Prizrak felt a little safer. Yet if the anomalies could move, what stopped them from encroaching their position now? Perhaps he was not feeling so safe after all.

Sem started a small fire so they could heat up a meal for the night and have some light. While Sem handled the fire and food, Prizrak pulled out his notepad to sketch down the events of the evening.

First he sketched out the dogs he had seen. They were obvious descendants of domesticated canines. Perhaps a combination of radiation and inbreeding caused the unique blindness and abnormal skin condition. It looked a lot like mange, but Prizrak speculated it another skin disease. He made his notes next to his sketch.

Then he made further notes on Sem. How quickly she jumped to action to rescue those in need. There was no mistaking her kindness and selflessness towards wildlife. He could say even towards people, but she had saved him, not someone else. Were he to die now, she would not receive the rest of her payment.

He closed the notepad so he could eat once Sem handed him a can of some unknown meat.

Sem leaned back against what was left of the wall, taking her time with her meal. She seemed to be staring at the small fire.

"Do you keep a...what is it...diary? You write far too much."

Prizrak snorted, resting an elbow upon a knee.

"Net? If not one of those silly things, then what?"

He gazed at her, the light dancing upon her scarred face. She was not looking at him. Nor was she watching the fire. It felt like she were staring through him.

"Ah, right." She said after a moment. "The silent type! Never met anyone who refused to talk. Normally my clients would be wishing back home. Begging for a better meal, a bed, and a hot bath. You're not like those people though, are you?" She took a bite of her food. "You're fine out here. Nothing, but a hole in the earth to sleep in. Perhaps you will be okay." She shrugged. "Most of you soldiers never last."

Prizrak snorted again and opened his notepad to continue writing.

After a while, Sem moved in a way that caught his attention. She sat straight up, hands frozen in her lap. He watched her carefully, but for the longest moment she did not move. When she did, she reached for the Dragunov at her side. As she touched it, a pillar of flame shot skyward at the edge of the village. Though it lit a wide area, Sem did not dare look and Prizrak could see nothing at first. His focus gifted him with

the sight of what Sem sensed. At the edge of the swirling light was a massive...foot. It made him think of a dinosaur due to the size and the reptilian nature. Above the foot was a jaw. Perhaps just the chin. Thick, with some sort of hook at the bottom.

Prizrak knew it was staring at them. He could not see its eyes, but he could feel them. When he looked to Sem, he found her to be terrified. She had picked up that rifle, but she did not shoulder it. She just stared towards him, completely frozen.

Slowly, he reached for his own rifle, but Sem shushed him.

A grumble came from the shadows. Like a lion growling. The creature at the edge of town shifted in place. The fire died down, seeping back into the earth. With it, the light faded away. Sem remained frozen, but they never saw the creature again. In fact, Prizrak could no longer hear it. It must have remained there at the edge of the burned village, hoping they would leave the safety of the anomalies.

He remembered Sem calling the Zone "Mother." He could not help, but think of the similarity. A protective mother, keeping her children safe from the monsters beneath the bed. The anomalies that near consumed him in flames, were now protecting him. It was a thought that would keep him awake just as well as that creature lurking just out of sight.


	4. Chapter 4

Sem stepped around the corner, straightening her belt. Running her fingers through her crimson hair, she sighed.

"Boy, sometimes I wish I were a man." She picked up her pack to clip it over her waist. Prizrak looked up to her, raising a brow. It certainly came from nowhere and he, at first, did not understand the context.

"Really. You have all the luxuries!" She waved her hand dismissively, pulling the long strands of hair over her shoulder. "You can just go where you please." She was smiling by this point, fighting back a laugh.

Prizrak had almost smiled himself. His guide was actually attempting to joke! Perhaps there really was more to her than some job. He could agree it was easier to stand, but he had never thought about it before.

"All right. Enough fun and games." She picked up her two rifles and turned about to head back out of the burned down building. "We have to find a new way across the river. We'll keep heading west where it gets shallow. We should be careful the further we head. The military patrols there and we can't take them on."

Prizrak nodded.

While he had confidence in his abilities, he had yet to see Sem in action. Thus far she had played the pacifist role. Prizrak would have shot and killed every creature they've come across. Shoot first, ask questions later. It's saved plenty of lives before as far as he had seen. If she preferred not fighting, then so be it. He did not have much of a choice.

They moved through the maze of anomalies slowly. These Burners had a habit of moving around, which they witnessed often. Once or twice they had to find new ways through. It was not quite as intense as the previous night, but Prizrak's blood rushed through his veins unlike anyway it had before.

Once they had gotten through and out of the village, traces of the creature from the night before were found. A large print was left in the mud. A tyrant king of this world. If its foot print was any evidence of its size, these creature was as large as an elephant.

"Komne, Prizrak!" Sem called from down the road. She was waving her hand in the air. "We must reach Yanov soon!"

Adjusting his rifle, Prizrak stepped into the footprint and hurried to catch up to Sem. They had a long way to go. They would walk for hours in the sunlight, watching as the clouds above them darkened in the distance. The lightning could be seen flashing within the clouds, lighting up the surface like a back light. A fascinating light show.

Sem had actually stopped every so often when the lights seemed to dance to the rhythm of rolling thunder. She was easily entertained. She took great joy in the natural occurrences of the world. Something Prizrak had never bothered to pay any mind to. To her it was utterly gorgeous. Mystifying. It took her attention the way a laser took a dog's attention. Those greying eyes darted side to side as she stared up into the clouds.

Was she really blind? Perhaps she could feel it. The way the earth rumbled beneath the soles of their feet. The moisture in the air as it stuck to their skin. That tingling sensation of the lightning crackling above. She knew where it came from, but did she know what it looked like?

Prizrak reached out to touch her shoulder, getting her attention.

"Oh, right!" She smiled and turned about to head down their hidden path.

They were eventually met with an old road. Crackled, littered with potholes. The asphalt barely had any marks left. Vehicles, burned to a crisp, rested against the sides of the road heading out of the area. An old testament to what this place was once upon a time. The road became a bridge of the river that was still raging from previous rain. Luckily, the bridge was still in tact.

They moved to head over the bridge, Prizrak taking time to spy the evidence of an evacuation. There were skeletal remains scattered over the asphalt. Could they have been put there during the evacuation following the disaster? It was possible...Prizrak would never know, and he had a feeling Sem certainly would not know either.

It should have been easier to evacuate these people. Did they truly panic so much that they turned on each other? Sem had talked about a white light that washed over the area. Before he could continue to think about it, Sem stopped dead in her tracks so abruptly, he stepped into her.

They had just made it to the end of the bridge. From around ruined concrete barriers and run down vehicles, came several men. Each of them armed with some form of old shot gun, submachine gun, or at least a pistol. Their faces were covered by balaclavas, bandanas, scarves, and hoods.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The one in the middle of the eight men spoke in their native tongue. He bounced a submachine gun upon his shoulder, cheeks rising in a grin behind his bandana.

"A little girl and a bodyguard?" He hummed. "I have to say, those weapons are pretty nice."

"They aren't for sale." Sem said, keeping a firm grip on her shotgun.

"I wasn't asking." The man tilted his head. He brought the weapon down to be held in both hands. "You can either give us everything, or you can be food for the dogs."

"I don't know..." Sem sang. "I like the third option better!"

Prizrak shot a quick glance to Sem. He had his rifle shouldered, finger on the trigger. While he would have fought no matter Sem's view on this matter, he was surprised to see her so arrogant. He expected she wandered alone and her words came with a tone of experience. While he could have been wrong, he felt she would do this with, or without his presence.

They were out numbered and these men made sure they would have all the available cover in case their persuasion attempt failed.

"Third option? There is no third option. You either die, or we take you back to camp."

"Yeah, you know, the option where you get thrown into a whirli'! I'd like that. I'd pay a couple grand for that!"

The man grumbled, reaching up to scratch his cheek. "You've got a mouth, girl. I can think of a better way you can use it."

"You've got five seconds to drop your shit and get out of here." Sem raised a brow, holding up the shotgun with one hand.

The man thought for a moment, biting back a laugh. He looked to his friends before turning back to Sem.

"Shoot them." He ordered.

The movement of the bandits prompted Prizrak to begin shooting. Even Sem fired off a single shot nailing one man in the chest. Prizrak first fired three shots, two to the chest, one to the head of the nearest bandit. He moved to the nearest cover, a damaged concrete road block. Sem moved behind a car, her geiger counter sounding off almost immediately.

She backed up from the car until the geiger counter fell silent. This had put her in a sticky situation. While she was not entirely in the open, she was now at a greater risk of being shot. Prizrak was keeping his head down, peeking up over the road block only between shots. Each time he did, he fired off a few rounds.

One bye one, the bandits fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Some would last a while, others would not even realize they were dead. The skirmish lasted only minutes. The skill of Prizrak and Sem both out classed these foolish bandits.

When Sem peeked around the car once all the shooting finished, Prizrak was standing, slowly lowering his rifle. Smoke wafting from the end of the barrel, he turned his head side to side to assure there were no more men coming. Their ears were still ringing from the weapons' thunderous barks.

She slowly got up, keeping the shotgun lowered. She blinked, a little surprised.

"By will of the Zone, you got them all!" She almost bounced over to Prizrak's side. "Well, let's see what we won!"

She knelt down to start going through pockets and backpacks. Prizrak raised a brow. She was actually looting the bodies. At first he thought about how disgraceful it was. Then he thought about it. They were dead. They did not need whatever they had any longer. Besides, looting the dead bodies could be the difference between life, or death. Medical supplies, food, water...

He decided to keep watch while Sem went through all the bodies. It had taken her a few minutes of searching, but it was certainly worth it.

Sem was able to get more ammunition for her shotgun. They even had canned food and canteens filled with fresh water. The biggest prize of them all was a second lead canister. Sem, kneeling next to Prizrak, opened the canister and gazed inside.

"Ooh!" She hummed. She stuck her gloved hand inside to pull out what was in there. "Not sure why they'd keep it in here." She held up the object, another artifact. This one was brown, looking like a spider's web in the shape of an egg. It must have been around six inches tall.

"Not bad for your first artifact. It's a Jellyfish. Here, it is safe." She held it out to him.

Prizrak took the artifact from her and looked it over in his own hand.

"It protects from a small amount of radiation. Can even cure minor illness." She closed the container and clipped it to the side of his rucksack.

Blinking, Prizrak stared at the artifact. How could something like this protect from radiation? He assumed it was not supposed to be eaten, and if that were the case, then how did it work? It just needed to be in his possession? It felt almost like metal, but carried the texture of bark. The whole thing was a mystery to him.

"Komne!" Sem called. "Why must you dally so? It will rain soon!"

Prizrak dropped the Jellyfish into his dump pouch and jogged to catch up to Sem. She had already started following the river back east. She was certainly fast and silent when she wanted to be. It honestly amazed the man. He had never seen anyone quite like that before. He would have to keep a better eye on her.

The rain fell like a curtain in the distance. The sun was yet to be blocked by the dark clouds, so its rays shimmered through the sheets of droplets. The brief shining of rainbows stretched into the shadows, fading in and out of existence. Soon, that blanket of cold rain, and darkness would be pulled over the tops of their heads.

By time the sky soaked their bodies, they had only come into sight of shelter. They quickened their pace careful not to exhaust themselves in case running was their best option from danger. They hurried into the old barn.

Off towards the back was evidence of people. Emptied cans, water bottles, filthy mattresses. There was a large wired trash can filled with hay and other dry combustibles. Sem stayed near the large door, shaking the excess water off her frame as best she could. Prizrak took his time to move through the barn, rifle at the ready in case unwanted guests were inside.

Most of the roof was caved in, allowing the rain to puddle on the wooden flooring. Luckily, there was a second floor for storage in mostly decent condition. It was that which kept the fire pit dry and in turn, it would keep them dry.

When Sem began to make her way over to the fire pit, Prizrak was working on getting some tinder lit with a damp matchbook. She removed her pack and weapons to set them down near the fire pit. She got her self-acclaimed spot ready for rest by spreading out a small pelt she pulled from her pack. She even did a little unpacking of food.

Since Prizrak was still getting a good fire burning, she took her time with opening a couple of cans. With a sigh of relief, Prizrak pocketed the matchbook, watching the flames consume the sticks and tinder piled in the trash can. He grabbed a couple handfuls of dry hay to place inside piece by piece to help strengthen the fire.

Sem placed the opened cans inside so the contents could be heated. She sat herself down on the pelt just a couple of feet from the fire. Arms resting on her knees, she relaxed. Prizrak followed suit, laying out a blanket of his own. From his backpack he removed a folded sleeve of canvas and set his rifle in his lap. He unloaded it, cleared the chamber and proceeded to take it apart for a brisk cleaning.

"Is it...snowing?" Sem asked. Her attention was upon a nearby puddle. The rain drops splashed into the pooling water. With it were small white flecks.

Prizrak looked up to the rain, then grunted. Indeed it was. It was just cold enough to get snowflakes. Once they rested upon the ground, they would quickly melt.

"So, you are soldier?" Sem decided to confirm her assumption.

Prizrak nodded. Quickly realizing she could not see the nod, he hummed out a "uh huh."

"Mmm..." Sem rested her chin in her palm. Those greying eyes were staring right at him. "Forgive me, I have had little...contact with soldiers. They tend to end in their death..." She took a soft breath. "You are different than them. Americans are very different. I am...worried. Are you here to destroy the Zone?"

Prizrak looked up to her curiously. Even he did not know exactly why he was here. However, he could take a wild guess. Whichever carried the most profit. If America could not make a dime out of it, then certainly they would not involve themselves.

"You don't know, do you?" Sem continued to prod.

Prizrak decided to turn back to his rifle to finish cleaning it.

"Strange..." A sound caught their attention.

Over by the door a pair of dogs were working together to drag in a carcass. Nothing more than a ball of flesh. It had gotten a little too dark to see it well, but Prizrak assumed it was one of the creatures he had seen before.

The man grabbed the pistol from his thigh. Sem quickly held her hand out to him to keep him from doing anything irrational.

"They just want shelter, too." She said quietly.

Prizrak kept his pistol out, keeping an eye on the dogs.

Once they had gotten the carcass inside the barn, they sniffed around. One immediately dug into it. The other gnawed at a shoulder until it ripped off. When it did, it carried it off from the corpse.

Much to their surprise, the blind canine trotted over to Sem, tail wagging against the back of its legs. It set the dismembered leg on the ground and nosed at it before backing off a bit.

Sem blinked and then smiled sweetly.

"Spasibo." She carefully took the leg and laid it over the top of the trash bin so it could get cooked by the flames.

The dog tilted its head side to side, giving a quiet growl. It backed up more before turning and hurrying back to the corpse so it could eat for the night as well.

"See?" Sem smiled at Prizrak. "Do not be so quick for the trigger, comrade. Not everything in the world wishes to hurt you."

Plenty of it wanted to kill them. Prizrak wondered if those dogs were the same ones Sem rescued earlier. Why else would they deliver food? It was only a dog, not even half as intelligent as a human. Yet here it was expressing appreciation in a way it knew how.


	5. Chapter 5

FOUR

Sem and Prizrak left the abandoned building the next morning. They marched along muddy paths following the river. Snow dotted the dull grass in large patches. As the sun rose higher into the sky, its welcomed heat would melt the snow before the afternoon came around.

Sem appeared to be upbeat. She hummed as she walked along, fingers dancing against the shotgun slung over her chest. Prizrak on the other hand was feeling groggy from the lack of sleep. Ever since he entered this place, he was unable to sleep. The way the air wrapped around him gave the feeling of dismay. It pulled him in the other direction like a faint voice. The little sleep he managed to get was restless. He was better off staying awake than suffering through the nightmares he could not even remember.

As the sun reached the focal point of the sky, the clouds circled around it, leaving a wide birth of pale blue between them and the brilliant white of the star. Slowly the clouds converged against one another, though there was no worry of rain for the daylight hours.

Sem mentioned they were getting closer to Yanov and sure enough within the next few hours they had made it. Close enough to see the whole building and its neighbors. Massive steel constructs for power lines towered over the buildings as they trailed further into the Zone. Small terminals had been erected a decade in the past. A warehouse sat a good block away from the main building and small buildings, most likely having been stores, sat somewhere in between. Ruined cars were dismantled on the side of old roads and the near ancient railways which still carried the remnants of a train. The nearest building however was a tall, brick tower. Supported by four brick columns at each point of the homelike structure atop the tower.

The pair was stood upon a small hill, stopping to take a look at the area. Sem was obviously relieved they had finally made it. Holding her shotgun down at her side, she turned to look to Prizrak, almost smiling.

"This is Yanov, comrade." She turned to looked back to the train station. "Believe it or not, this is the safest place."

Before they even continued to walk, men and women shouted at the top of their lungs. There had been men that appeared to be soldiers patrolling the station who were now running clear to the opposite side where the rusted train rested. Pigs screeched and guns roared out like thunder.

"Bystro!" Sem brought up the shotgun and rushed down the hill.

It was all Prizrak could do to catch up to her. She was certainly fast when she wanted to be. He followed after her as she ran into the bottom of the brick tower. They moved up the spiralling staircase until getting into the room above.

Sem dropped the shotgun on the wooden floor and pulled her Dragunov off her frame. She set it down on the windowsill, wasting no time to shoulder and stare through the scope. Happy to be able to shoot something finally, Prizrak joined her at the window, shouldering his own rifle.

What caused the initial panic were a pair of balls of flesh. They ran on spindling legs in fear, stopping only to attack the humans in their way due to the thought of being cornered and in danger. These otherwise harmless and skittish creatures normally avoided humans and their places of residence. Something drove them towards the station. Everyone down below knew that. Even with the fleshes eliminated, they stayed on guard, looking for anything else to come around.

A few under-armed men stepped to the train to get a better view of anything that could be coming. As one peered through an open train car, his face was trapped in the vicious maw of a large bearlike canine. The man was forced to the ground on the tracks and screamed in pain and terror as he punched and kicked the canine. Before his friend could help, wild dogs charged through the train cars and under. The men closer to the building opened fire, some shouting out orders.

With the targets known, Prizrak glanced over to Sem to make sure it was actually alright for him to shoot. With seemingly no objection, he opened fire. He stuck claim to a few dogs moving towards the station before Sem even fired her first shot. Sticking to the single-fire selection of his rifle, he took careful aim to assure he only needed one shot.

The small, blind dogs were easy to take down. They were thin and small as far as canines went. One, or two shots normally brought one of them down. The larger bear dogs, however, took a bit more. They were huge beasts and unless they were shot in a vital spot, they would keep fighting. They were the pack leaders and often lead the charge into battle. In comparison to their smaller brothers, they were quite intelligent. They could solve complex problems like a toddler.

The dogs swarmed through the men and women, trying to force them into a panic like a herd of elk. If they could single out anyone, they would quickly take them down and inflict fatal wounds. Luckily, the people guarding the station were experienced and stood their ground. Without comradery, without trust, they would fall and so too would the station.

Up in the tower, Sem and Prizrak had a great view of the battle below. This was easily one of the largest packs in the Zone. With about four large dogs and fifteen or more smaller ones. They must have been brought together from several packs and strays.

The guns roared over the barking dogs for a few minutes before the pack was broken up. Many animals lay dead, or dying, their blood watering the grass. Two of the bear dogs were dead while the other two called for a retreat and ran back across the railway. Prizrak pulled from the window, taking a moment to check the capacity of his magazine before pushing it back into his rifle. Sem was about to step away when a pained cry sounded out. She looked back to the window, gazing through her scope for a better look.

There, laying on the tracks was a dog unable to get up from its wounds. Dying a slow, miserable death, the dog whined, using up the last of its strength to attempt to get up and follow its pack. Sem took a breath, lining the cross hairs of her scope at the dog's head. She waited for it to lay its head down before releasing her breath and pulling the trigger. The roar of her gun cracked through the air, the bullet piercing through the dog's skull before smacking into the gravel.

Prizrak had not gone far. When she returned to the window, he watched her carefully. He was not sure what she was aiming, or how she was even aiming. Those grey eyes seemed so dark and lifeless in the little light that shined through the window. When she did shoot, he watched for the results. Amazing aim for someone who could not see. How? Perhaps she had been without sight for her entire life and thus developed an extraordinary ability to hear. From this distance though, it seemed humanly impossible.

Now Sem took her rifle from the window, pulling the strap over her shoulder. Someone from down below called out to her, holding his hand high above his head. Sem picked up her shotgun and lead the way back down the stairs and to the station.

"Sem!" A man in a brown and black uniform raised his hand in greeting. He stepped from the small crowd of people, a smile on his dirty, scruffy face.

"Spartak, it is good to see you!" Sem spoke in Russian, outstretching her right arm. They exchanged a firm handshake.

"I thought you were lost to the Zone." He placed a hand to her shoulder, leading her to the men and women.

The people were scrambling around to take care of the wounded and the bodies. There was a man screaming out in agony, the one who had his face bitten. Three men were carrying him back inside, struggling to keep him off the ground due to his writhing. The trio had caught a good look at him as he went by. His face was covered in blood, the skin torn to shreds. Pieces hung from the sides of his head like a molted winter coat.

"I've never seen so many dogs before." Someone said.

"It's like they planned it." Another man replied.

"Planned it? They're just wild animals! They were chasing those fleshes."

"No, no, that's too convenient. That many? They were after us, man. I'm tellin' ya'!"

Spartak stopped a few feet from the open doors of the station to face Sem. "Luckily you showed up." He looked over to Prizrak. "Your friend, too. If it wasn't for the both of you, I think it would have ended for the worse."

Prizrak seemed more interested in those around them than in Spartak's words. Then again, since he could not understand Russian, his attention was better off on something he could understand. While his guide and her friend conversed, he looked the others over. There were several men and women matching uniforms. One small group wore black with red accents. Two of them, being large men, were wearing something more experimental in America than any effective application. A thick, rustic mechanism held to their bodies by metal and leather straps. The wires, pistons, and other tubing were exposed. As the machine moved with the wearer, it made sounds akin to pressure releasing and gears turning. They were like walking tanks, more armored than their uniformed counterparts who stood nearly half a foot shorter.

The other uniformed group wore a forest green, accented in a traditional gorka camouflage. They were much louder than the other group, cheering and jumping on one another. It was like a never ending party for them. They were not even helping the others cleaning up the bodies, or assisting with the injured. They stuck to themselves and hurried back inside.

Those that did not hesitate to help, resembled Spartak and Sem more than the other two groups. There was no particular uniform amongst them. They were scavengers, wearing patched up clothing, and homemade armor. Prizrak could safely assume these men were not as old as they appeared. Years in the Zone changed their bodies and their minds, forcing them to adapt to the harsh environment unlike anything he had seen outside of war. They knew what it was like to be left alone in the middle of nowhere, surviving off scraps, or rotting carcasses. Prizrak got the feeling they would kill you just as quickly as save your life.

"Oh, right." Sem gestured to her client. "This is my job. He does not seem to talk. I've taken to calling him Prizrak."

"Prizrak, huh?" Spartak looked to the man, easily being at eye level with him. He looked him up and down before glancing back to the much smaller Sem. "He looks like a soldier. Are you sure this is not some...inside job?"

"He is American." Sem answered.

Prizrak perked up, actually understanding the Russian word " _Amerikanet_ " as "American" due to the similarity in pronunciation.

"Ah, I see!" He looked back to Prizrak and extended his hand for a shake. He spoke to him in English then, which sounded far better than Sem's. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Prizrak!"

The English soldier looked Spartak over, keeping his hands upon his rifle. He did give a nod in greeting, despite refusing the handshake.

"Hmm...Certainly the silent type." Spartak lowered his hand and smiled again. He continued to speak in English. "Come, come, let's get you two inside. Have a drink on me!"

Placing a hand to Sem's shoulder, Spartak lead the way inside.

"Hey," The man holding the door open for everyone stopped them for just a moment. "Good job out there."

"You, too." Spartak nodded and shouldered past, his hand never leaving Sem.

"Yo!" He raised his hand, holding up two fingers and a thumb. "Get us some drinks!" He lead the way over to an empty table in a corner.

Oddly, out of the eight tables, half of them did not have chairs. Spartak had picked one with only three, old, rickety stools. He allowed Sem and Prizrak to sit together on one side while he stepped over to the open window where the barkeeper had set down three glasses and a bottle of vodka. He chatted while he was there, getting the barkeeper to laugh fairly loud in the mostly empty room. When he was back, he sat down across the table from Sem, filled their glasses and slid them out.

In another room, they could hear the agonizing screams of that injured man. A couple of people were trying to shout over the screaming. Most likely the doctors trying to save his life.

"Do you think he will make it?" Sem asked quietly, sticking to English out of respect for Prizrak.

"Bonesetter is possibly the best doctor in the Zone! If anyone can save him, it is certainly him."

"Has anything new happened since I was away?"

Prizrak, getting the feeling they would be here a while, took out his journal and pencil. He flipped to a clear page so he could write and sketch out the bear dog he had seen on the tracks along with the people he saw. He listened to Sem and Spartak, taking notes of anything interesting.

"I met this strange guy." Spartak took down his shot of vodka. "A scar across his face. He did not say too much, but we travelled together for a night. Helped me out of a tight spot. He was fairly adamant about hunting down someone...Ah, I forget the name…."

"Probably just some merc. You know how they are." Sem waved her hand, picking up her glass.

"Yeah, but there's just something about him…"

"What? You like this guy, or something?" Sem bit back a laugh.

"Huh?! Oh, you bitch. It's not like that and you know it."

"I would stay out of his way. Mercs are nothing, but trouble."

Pouring himself and Sem another glass, he used the bottle to gesture to Prizrak. "So, what's the story with this guy?"

The woman shrugged, reaching up to scratch the back of her head. "No clue…" Her voice lowered to a whisper as she leaned across the table. "Something to do with that English military. Real quiet stuff. I'm just giving him a tour, making sure he survives."

She leaned back from the table, brushing her crimson hair out of her face.

Spartak looked over to him, keeping his voice low so only those at their table could hear. "I don't know if she told you, but you ought to keep that career choice a secret. Those guys are bad news. You are either a stalker, or a merc."

Prizrak made a grumbling sound.

"Enough about this job." Sem dismissed the topic for something more important. "Have you seen Rytsar?"

Spartak shook his head. " _Net_ , I haven't. Not since the last time I saw you. I did see Ladya a week ago around those Tunnels into the swamp. He was alone… Didn't seem to be himself."

"Then that's where I need to go."

"That was a long time ago, Sem. He is most likely somewhere else by now."

"It's all I've got." She sighed, frowning.

Spartak knew how important Rytsar was to Sem. He had rarely seen the two of them apart and they never strayed far from one another. Even he hated the thought of something horrible happening to him, or even the rest of their small group. In the end, they were all family. They travelled together for years.

The commotion had finally calmed down in the station. There were no longer screams, just the quiet hum of conversation. There were few people in the bar. Most of them had split off to separate sides of the station.

"It sounds like Bonesetter got it done. I'm going to see if he knows anything." Sem finished off her glass and slipped down from the barstool. She stepped around Prizrak, who quickly closed his journal to follow after her.

She headed away from the barkeeper, stepping through an old archway into a small room. There was a small rickety bench against the nearest wall, a half-broken chair, and a second chair with a metal bucket for a small fire in the middle of the room. There was a bed against the far wall and lockers between two more doorways.

Two men in dirty, old green uniforms were sitting at the fire. One of them looked up, smiled and waved at Sem and Prizrak. Sem continued on her way into a small hallway that lead out to the side of the building and crossed it for the nearest doorway. Inside was a series of shelves, half of a bunk bed, and a desk kept as clean as possible in these trying times. There were three people in the room, one lying asleep on the bed and the other two cleaning up the mess. Blood soaked bandages littered the floor along with some medical tools, syrettes, and first aid kits.

A man in a leather jacket was stepping behind the desk, trying to scrub off the blood on his hands with a white cloth.

"Sem?" He raised a brow, gazing over to her. "I thought I heard you out there in that fight."

"Yo." She gave a two fingered wave before adjusting the strap of her shotgun over her shoulder.

"Come in, come in." He waved a hand at her.

Sem stepped over to the desk, Prizrak staying by the doorway. He listened to them, but could only pick up so many words in their native tongue.

"Do you need anything?" Bonesetter, an older looking man, sat down in the chair.

"Just the basics." She dug down into one of her pockets, fishing for the rubles to pay for the supplies.

Turning around, the man dug into a drawer. He set down a compact pouch filled with what she requested. While Sem figured she could survive with what she had, it was always best to have more than enough.

"Have you seen Rytsar as of late?"

"Two weeks ago. He mentioned something about a pond?"

"A pond? There's thousands of those!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Sem. Rytsar never mentioned anything to you? I thought you were with him."

" _Net_ …. He left the Zone a couple of days before me. We were supposed to rendezvous to come back in together, but he never showed."

"Well, before you leave the Zone again, stop by, will you? I sent some newbie down to Yantar to get me some supplies. I don't think he'll show back up."

"All right. Thanks, Bone." She turned away to head back out, but before she left, Bonesetter called for her again.

"Hey, be careful out there, Sem. Those emissions are getting more frequent. There's going to be another one soon."

Sem stopped to think for a moment, waved, and left the room to head back over to the bar. Spartak was still sitting at the table in the corner, keeping to himself for the time being. Sem headed over to the barkeeper's window. Because of her height, she had to stand on the tips of her toes to lean not so comfortably against the small ledge.

"Aloha!" He said, stretching out his arms. "It's good to see you again, dude! How you been? What can I get you?" He was awfully boisterous.

"Happen to have a spare PDA?"

"You're in luck. Got one the other day." He turned around to sift through the times on a couple of tables in search of the device.

"Oh, wonderful! You're the best, Hawaiian!"

"Need anything else? A shipment came in this morning." He turned up to set the PDA on the counter top.

As Sem dug into her pocket for some cash, she answered him. "Canned food, bread. Two water bottles."

He grabbed a few cans from a shelf along with with paper-wrapped bread and finally the water. Sem set down the cash on the counter and straightened her back to pack up the food.

Hawaiian, the barkeeper, leaned over the counter, smiling at her. "Is that it for you? What about your friend there?"

With the food packed, she grabbed the PDA, hitting the power button. "He's fine. Thank you, Hawaiian." She turned away to head for the rear door of the station.

With a wave, the barkeeper said his goodbyes. "Be safe out there!"

When the door shut behind them, Sem tossed the PDA up over her shoulder. Surprised, Prizrak barely managed to catch the device. He turned it around in his hands, looking to the screen.

"It's a PDA." Sem told him. "Just give it the information it needs."

Figuring it would not hurt, Prizrak typed in the information, using the name Sem had given him. He walked slowly behind her, glancing up every so often while the device loaded. They did not even get off the pavement before someone called for their attention.

A man in a black uniform waved them down, that exoskeleton suit he wore whirring as it moved with his body.

"Stalkers!" He said.

Sem stopped and turned to him, brushing her hair from her face. "What's up?"

"You look like you're headed to the west. Right?"

"Yeah, did you need something?"

"We have a unit out that way. We've had trouble with the radio, doesn't seem to be working at all now. If you happen to run into them, tell them the boss wants them to come back for replacements. Especially before that emission hits."

"If I see them."

"Thanks, stalker."

The man stood there, watching as they left. When they were nearly out of earshot, he turned and headed back to the side of the station.

Prizrak was tempted to ask about the uniformed men and women at the station. He even wanted to ask her where exactly they were headed. He assumed they were probably going towards the tunnels that Spartak had mentioned. The people at that train station were kind hearted. They worked together and even lived together in that building. After their encounter with that group of bandits at the river, Prizrak was ready to believe that anyone they ran into was going to be an enemy. It was certainly a refreshing thought to know that not everyone would be out to kill them. The only issue now was determining who would try to stab them in the back, and who would fight with them.

"I'm sure you need to rest, but we don't have much time." Sem said as she walked.

The grass was still wet from last night's rain. The droplets brushed off unto the bottoms of their pants, faintly darkening the colors. Prizrak certainly did not need to rest and her thinking he did almost upset him. He felt like she was treating him like a child. She had no idea the training he had gone through to get where he was now. There were more years of his life dedicated to his career than he figured Sem was even alive. She was young and naive, or so he thought. Each time he thought about her age, he noticed the grey streaks in that crimson hair of hers. With a face like hers, she could not be older than him. Unless there was some sort of secret root, or sap she used regularly. Prizrak almost chuckled at that thought.


	6. Chapter 6

FIVE

Despite all of the distant screams and sounds capable of inducing night terrors in the bravest of men, the Zone was filled with a lot of peaceful was difficult to focus on anything, but what could be around the bush, but Prizrak, with the oh, so confident Sem at his side, could take the time to notice the little things.

The sound of the wind rushing through the blades of grass and over the hills. The sound of the grass brushing over their legs and crunching under their boots. What kept getting his attention was the sky. Despite it being just a little past midday, the blueness was fading into yellow. The sun was actually dissipating into the altering color. The clouds that circled around the central point of the sky darkened to black. Lightning was streaking through the clouds every few minutes. The faint sound of thunder rumbling from outside of the zone.

As they kept walking, Sem's pace quickened. She no longer held unto her shotgun, though she kept it just under her arm in case she needed it. Prizrak could tell she was getting agitated. Perhaps she was hungry, or too worried about the men she was looking for. He would have asked, but the sight of men standing around a dim campfire stopped him.

They appeared to be packing up to leave, so the pair hurried to meet up with them. When they got there, one of the black uniformed men stomped on the fire to put it out.

"Privet, stalkers." A man in an exoskeleton waved at them. "Do you need something?"

"Just passing through." Sem answered, glancing over her shoulder at Prizrak.

"You don't seem to be looking too good." He tilted his head as he looked her up and down. "We're moving over to the warehouses to get out of this storm. Maybe you should come along to rest."

"It's not just a storm." Sem shook her head. "I was just at the station. Your boss wants you back before this emission hits."

"Emission?"

A couple of the other men stopped and approached.

"How do you know it's an emission?" One of them asked.

"Bonesetter said so."

"Then we'll head back to base." The one in the exoskeleton said. He shifted around and waved his hand at the others. "Change of plans, boys. We're headed back to the station." He looked back to the woman. "Thank you…"

"Sem." She said.

"Sem." He nodded. "Get to a safe place yourself."

She nodded and without wasting anymore time, stepped around him and the rest of his men to continue west towards the tunnels. Prizrak walked behind her until they were a little bit away from the leaving unit. Then he walked by her side, glancing down to her. He spent majority of his time behind her. That man seemed concerned about her.

She was certainly not injured. There was not a single speck of blood on her anywhere that he could see. The only thing Prizrak could think of that was unusual with her was the fact she was constantly scratching at her arms. She either had a persistent itch, or she was agitated.

After about an hour, Prizrak placed his hand on her shoulder. He understood that when someone was missing, time was of the essence. Her itching was getting worse and she was starting to look a little pale.

"What is it, Prizrak?" She looked over to him.

He squeezed her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. That was when she pulled from his touch.

"We cannot stop yet. You have to wait." She started to walk again.

Prizrak grabbed her shoulder again, grumbling.

Snapping from him yet again, Sem turned around to glare up at him. "I told you to-"

Both of their PDAs gave a series of beeps, but before either could check their devices, a deafening siren bellowed through the sky. It was loud enough for them to feel the vibrations in the air. The yellowed sky was shifting to orange and red, the lightning growing more frequent. The earth beneath their feet gently shivered.

Sem's eyes widened and she grabbed Prizrak's elbow.

"We have to move. Now." She said. She turned and sprinted, holding onto her rifle to keep it from hitting her.

Prizrak followed after her as quickly as he could. Sem had moved through bushes into a cluster of trees lining the foot of a large hill. The sirens blared once again and the rumbling grew more vicious. Sem hoped they could make it to the Tuzla Tunnels before the emission came. Despite being horribly wrong, she knew of good shelter nearby. They had to make it around the hill and through the trees.

When the sirens shrieked for a third time, a field broke through the trees. A rail system stretched across, perpendicular to their direction. A tunnel had been erected through the hills to allow trains passage. It was here Sem ran to.

The wind picked up over the field like rushing waves. It seemed a tornado would spawn right on top of them. The clouds swirled around and the lightning lit up the sky so bright it was like a flash bang had gone off in front of them. The bizarre colors of the sky mimicked that of the sun's solar flares, bursting up like an arch over the clouds before breaking in half and dissipating into nothingness.

It felt like the air was pushing down on them, forcing them to kneel and bury themselves into the lifting soil. The plates of the planet must have been shifting dramatically.

Loose materials, pebbles, twigs, leaves, even their clothing that was not tightly secured, or heavily weighed down, lifted skyward. Gravity was beginning to reverse, their bodies as heavy as they felt, seemed to lose traction with the ground like they were sliding across ice.

For the first time in decades, Prizrak was actually struck with timorousness. He had never experienced anything like it before. He could not even compare it to anything. An earthquake? A twister? The sun, or even the moon, barreling towards the earth. Whatever it was, he did not want to go through it again, but little did he know how long it would last.

Not being stopped by Sem, Prizrak continue to sprint into the tunnel until he was met with rubble that had collapsed over the tracks. He turned around, but Sem was not there. The lightning kept the first few meters into the tunnel well lit, but Sem was nowhere to be seen.

The sound of electricity startled Prizrak enough for him to unholster his pistol. He grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. The walkway for pedestrians was littered with a blue sparking electricity. As the tunnel shook as if it were bound to collapse, the anomalies sparked to life far more frequently.

Slowly, Prizrak used the his light to look around the tunnel. Just on the other side of the tracks, almost against the wall was a black figure leaning against a steel barrel. Out of caution, he kept his pistol trained on the figure, finger off the trigger. He slowly approached, assuming whoever it was knew he was there due to the light.

Stepping onto the tracks, his head began to throb as if his brain was pounding on the inside of his skull. His blood was boiling beneath his skin, his muscles rattling. His stomach was ready to dispel his breakfast.

The figure turned around slowly and from underneath the hood, he spotted long, crimson hair.

"Prizrak." Sem said. She reached up, adjusting her scarf for a better position over her face.

As he got closer to her, he could have sworn he saw a faint blue glow on her face.

"You do not look very good. Sit down." She did not approach him, instead she stayed a meter or so away from him.

Even Prizrak knew that was unusual about her. He sat down on an old sleeping bag laid out in front of the barrel. He holstered his pistol, barely able to cover his mouth when he started to cough.

Sem lit the fire in the barrel and sat down so she could see Prizrak. She bent her knees close to her chest, arms crossed tight.

"Relax. Keep your eyes open." Sem continued to talk to him, but the roaring wind and thunder outside enveloped his ears.

He was going deaf and he was ready to vomit. His visioned blacked out. Blinking several times, he was able to see Sem waving her hand in front of his face. She held onto his arm, hoping he was not going to pass out. She had seen dozens of rookies do it before.

Grabbing her canteen, she pulled off the top with her teeth and held it up to his lips.

Sem was practically shouting at him, he could just barely hear her voice over the wailing storm.

It took about a minute of drinking and water getting splashed in his face before he could see straight. With an aching head, he took the canteen from Sem. Even she was rubbing the side of her head now that both of her hands did not need to be used.

"If...If it makes you feel any...better," Sem leaned back against her heels, her breathing a little labored. "I have never seen...a better rookie."

Prizrak watched her, though his vision remained half-blurred. He could have sworn he saw some sort of blue glow on her face. The initial shock of the ordeal was melting away, though a massive migraine and churning stomach would remain. He leaned towards her, blinking a few times to focus his sight. Then he reached out to touch the blue glow, thinking it was just an illusion of light.

Sem pushed the canteen into his hand, shifting to sit upon her rear. She watched him, wanting to make sure he was going to be all right.

Her head was hurting just as bad as his was. The migraine that set in might as well had imploded her brain. For now, she would be fine, though the tingling sensation in her veins called for her attention. She wanted to focus on something else in hopes it would just go away. When she felt the dry air against her lips, she gasped.

She quickly reached up with both of her hands, taking her scarf and pulling it up over her nose. Little did she know, Prizrak had already seen it. His vision had cleared enough to see the fine details had he gotten a little closer.

Her face was glowing some mystical blue. Like elegant tree branches stretching up from beneath that dirty scarf. The trunk of these trees made it to the bottom of her eyes, branches stretching towards her chin, mouth, and ears.

Prizrak could barely believe what he was seeing. He read no book, heard no tale about a person that could glow. There must have been something in the water she had given him. He stared at her, telling himself it was just his imagination. She was starting to act shy though, touching her face and the scarf. She brought her knees up into her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.

He turned his head to gaze out of the tunnel. There must have been a stationary tornado outside. The dust and debris that roared past was repeatedly lit up by the lightning. When he looked back to Sem, she was digging her nails into the sides of her head, pushing her face towards the ground between her legs.

She cringed and grumbled, the feeling of needles jabbing into her brain making her want to cry. A cooing sang through her ears. The quiet hum of a beautiful voice hushing the pain away.

Sem groaned, repeating "shut up" several times. "It's a lie." She hissed.

Prizrak could do nothing more than watch. He could see and hear the pain in her. He was half-tempted to help, had he known what to do. After nearly a minute, she had calmed down. She kept her head practically in her lap. She talked in her native tongue. She talked to herself. It sounded like an actual conversation.

Another minute came and gone. Prizrak decided to reach out and touch her. His fingers brushed over her knee. The contact seemed to instantly calm her. She stopped mumbling, her muscles relaxed. What more was the storm finally ceasing. The lightning was the first to stop. Then the wind slowed, the debris moving like a wall across the world with two distinct faces. Whatever was levitating dropped to the earth. The brilliant reds and oranges remained including their solar flares stretching across the black sky.

He gave a reassuring squeeze to her knee, slowly pulling back to himself when he head lifted up. She looked exhausted, her eyes glazed. He took the time to inspect her face. That crazy glow was subsiding. Within moments the only light on her face was that of the dimming fire. He really was not hallucinating after all.

Sem did not look like she was going to be moving anytime soon. So, Prizrak took out his journal and pencil so he could right down the day's events. He wanted to sketch what he had seen while it was still fresh in his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

When Sem finally came around, she took a sharp breath, her eyes opening wide. She thought her brain had been turned to mush at this point. She was not feeling well, nor like herself. It took her a while to start moving. Prizrak watched her carefully, silently. He did not need to rush his own mission, but he could see Sem pushing herself to get hers done as quickly as possibly.

He had this feeling that this Rytsar man she was looking for was already dead.

"Have you eaten? We should be moving out." Sem almost mumbled when she spoke. She achingly got up to her feet and picked up her things.

Upon seeing this, Prizrak gathered his own gear and approached her. He gently tapped the rugged canteen against her shoulder. Sem quickly dismissed him.

"I do not need it."

He pressed it into her hand then.

"Oh, wait…" She said in a soft breath. "It is mine, yeah?" She took it from him and twisted off the cap. She scratched her cheek and took a few sips before hooking the canteen onto her belt.

The only light outside was that of the full moon. They should not be travelling at this hour. It would have been better for them to stay in the tunnel until dawn. Sem persisted on leaving, however. She needed to find Ladya so she could find Rytsar.

Prizrak followed closely behind Sem, slowly swaying his flashlight side to side to check their surroundings. Sem had not even bothered to pull out her flashlight, she marched on through the darkness, following the stars west.

Prizrak had expected night to be far more quiet than it was. More creatures were out wreaking havoc on whatever they came across. There were other odd sounds all around them, such as something heavy hitting the ground, bellowing steam, or something akin to a prowling beast.

There were very few trees around them. The grass was almost to their knees and there were a lot of bushes. Anything that was stalking them would have a hard time stay out of Prizrak's watchful eyes. Sem was certainly not bothered by any of the sounds. She paid them no mind.

"Back there…" Sem said, a small amount of anxiety in her voice. "You did not…" She sighed and shook her head. "That storm was an emission. A blow-out. It comes from Mother's heart. It is her...wrath."

He wondered if Sem's low knowledge in English caused her sentences to come out cryptic, or strange. Maybe she truly believed the Zone was her mother? She had mentioned before that the Zone was born like her, or him. It could have been a person hiding somewhere. How could that explain the anomalies though? An experiment gone wrong? That would not explain the appearance of the other Zones.

"Blow-outs come by sometimes. Lately though, they have been coming a lot." She looked over her shoulder towards him, smiling sweetly in the red of his flashlight.

"I never saw a rookie do as good as you." She turned forward again, stepping over a dismembered branch.

Prizrak was not sure if how he handled the storm was good, or not. All he knew was he did not want to go through it again. How frequently were these emissions happening? He wondered in silence late into the night.

They had followed the train tracks until they were met with a derailed train. Surprisingly, some cars remained upright. The red light pulled a sinister veil over their surroundings. As they approached the tunnel, walking alongside the cars, their geiger counters shrieked. It was calm at first, but once they got to the mouth of that concrete cave, it blared loud enough to pierce their ears.

Sem stopped to think.

"Put your mask on." She said, reaching to her hip to unlatch her own gas mask from her belt. She lifted it up and pulled the straps down over the back of her head and the mask over her face. A tight fit, that quickly became airtight upon her opening the filter and taking a deep breath.

Prizrak followed suit, doing the same with his own. He pulled his hood up, tightening it around the edges of the mask.

"The last time I was here, there was a leak." She used her shotgun as a prod against some sort of moss hanging down from the ceiling. It hung like a massive curtain, nearly trailing against the ground. The closer she got, the higher the dial on her geiger counter jumped.

"Try not to touch." She said and carefully stepped through. She could not help her boots crunching into the moss that lined the concrete floor in patches.

Prizrak followed her into the darkness, keeping his flashlight on her until she flipped hers on. Sem kept her light against the ground.

She was tempted to call out in hopes that Ladya was for some reason still in the tunnel. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach though. There was a lot more moss than she remembered there being. The darkness was too constricting for their liking. Their vision depended on their flashlights and both were designed for a smaller, stronger beam in order to blind onlookers.

Sem eventually stepped on something that felt to roll from under her foot. She had actually slipped and hit her knee against the gravel flooring. A curse under her breath, she situated herself and her light. Just beneath her frame was a dirty jacket. A jacket worn by a rotting corpse.

"Oh, jeez!" She whined, leaning back a bit.

Prizrak stood about a foot from her, keeping his light aimed in the distance. He spied the carcass, noticing the sunken cheeks and wrinkled skin. There did not seem to be anything of value on the body, but Sem was interested in how the man had been killed and who he was.

"It's not Ladya." She said, sounding a little relieved. Her gloved finger traced over the side of its neck and head. "These scars…."

Prizrak got closer, kneeling down. If Sem was taking the time to point it out, then it must have been important information. He inspected the scarring. It looked like the body had been strangled by tentacles. He remembered seeing similar scars before. Though he had trouble placing it, he remembered when his light slid over Sem's frame.

She had the the same scars. They were hard to see with the straps of her gas mask over her head, but he could spot the trail. If Sem survived a similar attack, then this man was unlucky. He must have been alone. He knew Sem used to travel in a group, though he was not sure of the size.

"Let's hope they are either no longer here, or are sleeping." Sem slowly stood up.

Just as Prizrak stood up, a can had been kicked across the ground. If he did not know any better, he would have assumed it was Sem, but the sound came from the other side of the tracks. It became clear that something was hiding in the darkness. They were being watched.

Prizrak had been too distracted by the sounds he was now hearing to notice that Sem had walked away. When he turned around, he found Sem's light a few meters away. He could see her if he shined his light on her, but he wanted to pay more attention to the things around him. Keeping his rifle at the ready, he carefully approached Sem who had not even noticed he was not with her.

A growl came from out of sight. Something low and from the throat. It sounded like it was right behind Prizrak. He quickly turned around to first shine the light in the eyes of whatever it was, but nothing was there. His muscles tightened, ready to burst into action. How could he have heard something just inches away and it not be there now?

The darkness must have been playing tricks on his mind. He thought he heard the gravel shift under weight, but it could have been Sem. It could have been him. He stayed on the move, barely stopping to spin around completely to assure nothing could sneak up on him.

"Prizrak?" Sem called.

He watched her crimson light wave around through the blackness. He picked up his pace to get to her as quickly as possible. Her voice sounded off, as if she had thought she was entirely alone.

She called for him again, deciding to stay exactly where she stood. She moved her flashlight around in hopes of catching his attention. A grumble had made her jump, causing her to train the light on a fixed point.

"Prizrak…" Sem repeated for a third time.

He was only a couple of meters away from her now. He hoped she would hear him on the gravel. Her flashlight spun around, fixating somewhere else. Prizrak stopped to look, using his own light to further illuminate the darkness.

Sem screamed, her flashlight dropping to the ground. Prizrak snapped around to look, but he could not see her. He ran to where her flashlight was, only for a loud snarl to catch his attention. Before he could even react, something grabbed his arm to spin him in the other direction. He shoved his elbow into whatever it was, only to lose his own light in the process.

Hungry snaps and hisses echoed through the tunnel. He could hear Sem struggling, her soft cries and grunts. Having so much distance between them was horrible. If they had been closer maybe something like this could have been avoided. Why did Sem wander off to begin with?!

The gravel crunched beneath something charging after him. He did not bother to aim down the sights of his rifle. Instead, he kept a firm grip and pulled the trigger for a burst of ammunition. Blood splattered from seemingly nothing at all. A cry of pain quickly faded into the distance.

A shotgun had fired, briefly illuminating a few feet of space. Prizrak had barely seen the flash, but he headed in that direction. Another blast from the shotgun and he could see a creature in the dark. Humanlike, but green and covered in some sort of moss. Algae perhaps. It had been hunched over using both of its clawed hands against what he assumed was Sem.

She cried out again, this time sounding to be in pain. Prizrak took careful aim and fired. The flashes of fire from the end of his barrel brought color to his immediate area. He caught a glimpse of massive claws swinging towards him. He tried to lift up his rifle to deflect the attack, but it had happened too fast. The claws dug into his arm and shoulder, swiping through the jacket and flesh like a knife through butter.

Sem grunted as she kicked, eventually knocking the creature off of her. She had only enough time to get up to her knees, shotgun in tow before being attacked again. There had to be more than a couple of these creatures attacking them. This time Prizrak was able to shoot the creature on Sem, killing it with a few blows to its head and shoulders.

He grabbed Sem's shoulder strap and hoisted her up to her feet. Sem looped her fingers into the back of his belt, pulling him backwards as she stepped. When her heel met the edge of a massive crevice in the middle of the tunnel, she stopped.

Their geiger counters shrieked out, the dials jumping back and forth, unable to measure the amount of radiation.

Sem's flashlight had luckily landed in such a way on the tracks, it brightened the tracks and the gap in the tunnel. The hole was almost too wide for them to jump. The steam bars of the railway was the only way across and even that was not much safer. A gas was rising from the bottom of the crevice. It swirled and plumed on its way to the ceiling. Despite the red tinge of the light, they could tell it was a noxious green gas.

"We have to get across." Sem panted into her filter. "They will only attack if they see your back."

She gently pushed on Prizrak getting him to move a little to the side so they could stand on the tracks. The creatures hissed and snarled at them. The gravel crunched. They were surrounded. They either braved the onslaught, or risked falling into a gaseous abyss.

Sem stepped onto the steel bar and began to walk across. Prizrak stood guard, firing off a couple of shots at what he thought were the creatures.

"Bystro!" She waved her hand at Prizrak. She had stopped half-way across, not wanting to go further until he was moderately safe on the steel. Those creatures could not follow them through the gas.

Prizrak glanced behind him to get a foot on a bar and started to head across. The moment he turned his back to the creatures, though, one of them attacked.

It slashed at his rucksack, throwing his balance off. A foot slipped from beneath him and he fell from the bar. Luckily he was able to release his rifle and grab hold of the railway before it was too late. Sem almost yelled in shock. She rushed across the rest of the way and turned around to think of a way to help him.

Prizrak tried to hoist himself up, but his fingers would not be able to take the awkward positioning of weight on a rolled surface.

Sem knelt down on the edge of the crevice, patting around her pouches for some sort of idea. Pebbles rushing over the edge caught her attention, but for her it was too late. Another one of those creatures and come from the shadows and grabbed hold of her hair. It yanked her head backwards at a force, that if resisted, would have broken her neck.

Screaming, Sem grabbed hold of one of the claws over her shoulder to pry it off her. A limb of the creature smacked into the visor of her gas mask, leaving behind a trail of smile. Sem began to breath heavily, kicking her feet and swinging her arms. Her eyes wide open. She could feel the tentacles around the creature's mouth spreading over her neck and head. She was reliving a nightmare. One she could not simply wake up from.

Prizrak, knowing Sem could not overpower the creature, moved. He walked his hands over the railing, something he should have done much sooner instead of hanging out for a better idea. Truth be told, he just wanted to make sure he would not fall to his death.

As Prizrak pulled himself up onto solid ground, Sem found her way to the kukri sheathed at her lower back. Instead of focusing on an arm, Sem grabbed one of the tentacles to keep it from latching onto her neck. Prizrak did the only thing he could think of, which was grab the creature's head. With one hand over its skull and the other between its mouth and Sem's neck, he pulled.

The creature snarled, turning its attention from Sem to Prizrak. If something was getting in the way of its meal, it was better served eliminating that threat before feasting. It was now he was realizing just how strong these creatures were. The tentacles alone were nearly impossible to control mostly due to the slime that excreted from them. The creature shoved itself against Prizrak, first lifting him into the air before bringing him back down.

Grunting from the air being knocked from his lungs, he pushed the creature back, but could do no more. Its tentacles wrapped around his arm, the barbed hooks sinking in through his clothing and into his skin. When he uttered a faint cry of pain, Sem came from behind the creature.

Using that curved blade, she stabbed it down into the creature's back. It shrieked in agony, letting go of Prizrak to attack the new assailant. More of the creatures roared out, their feet heavy against the gravel.

Sem hacked at the back of the creature's neck repeatedly. Though her blade was designed to hack through foliage, flesh and bone was much the same. She used all of her strength, both of her hands. The blade slashed through the vertebrae and eventually through the jugular. Sem only stopped when the creature fell over.

Prizrak got to his feet, touching Sem's shoulder. She grabbed his wrist and pulled, running down the tracks as fast as she could. There were more coming. She no longer concerned herself with searching for signs of Ladya. This was survival. If they did not get into the light of the moon, they would surely be killed.

Though Prizrak was the type to stand and fight, he knew when it was best to run. He could not see the enemy, but the enemy could see him.

Those creatures chased after them. They called out to one another, communicating so they would not lose their prey. Prizrak and Sem stopped only for seconds and only to shoot if one of the creatures had gotten too close for comfort. Even if they missed, it only warded them off.

Breaking from the tunnel, they stopped. They made it to the edge of a demolished bridge. Down below was nothing more than swamp. Those creatures were still behind them.

"Sh-shit…" She cursed.

Sem knew the water was irradiated. If it was shallow enough, they could walk through, but it was hard to tell due to the murkiness. It was going to be their only choice. If they wanted to get away from those creatures, they would have to brave the disgusting water and the radiation poisoning.

Sem pulled on Prizrak and headed on the hill. First they skirted around the water until they came across a piece of land they could leap to. They moved into the swamp, cutting through the high reeds and over small foot bridges.


End file.
